Displaying items by tag: funding cuts

Afghanistan is facing an escalating humanitarian emergency, as the World Food Programme has warned it cannot mount an effective winter response for the first time in decades. International aid has sharply declined since 2021, following the Taliban’s return to power, and has been further strained by earthquakes and other natural disasters. As a result, WFP estimates that it needs more than $460 million extra in order to assist six million of the most vulnerable people. Hunger is rising rapidly, with an estimated 17 million Afghans now food insecure, including millions recently deported from Iran and Pakistan. Children are bearing the heaviest burden: 3.7 million are acutely malnourished, one million severely so, and deaths are expected to increase during the harsh winter months when food access is lowest. Clinics and nutrition programmes are shrinking as funding dries up, leaving families with little support. Aid agencies warn that without urgent international action, preventable suffering and child mortality will continue to worsen.

The decision to remove bursaries for trainee Religious Education (RE) teachers has sparked alarm among church and education leaders, who warn it will deepen an already severe recruitment crisis. The Government’s new funding guidance for 2026–27 excludes RE, English, music, and art and design from bursary eligibility. Last year, RE trainees received £10,000 in financial support - a measure credited with boosting applications by 40%. The RE Policy Unit, representing national teaching bodies, called the cut ‘devastating’, noting that current recruitment stands at just 54% of target. The CofE’s chief education officer, Rev Nigel Genders, said the decision threatens efforts to build ‘religious literacy’ and mutual understanding in an increasingly polarised society. RE is compulsory in all state schools, yet many lessons are taught by non-specialists due to shortages. Advocates argue that restoring bursaries is essential not only for education quality but also for social cohesion and informed citizenship.