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The International Development Committee (IDC) today warns that a legacy of humanitarian and development reversals and crises could be more catastrophic than the direct impacts of covid-19 in developing countries. The IDC’s latest report comes as the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs is set to appear before IDC members for the first time.

The IDC’s inquiry found that routine healthcare in some countries is grinding to a halt; vulnerable economies risked failure under rising levels of national debt; people across the Global South were more in fear of threats of job losses and starvation than the pandemic; and the virus, and its counter-measures, were increasing levels of gender-based violence, child marriages and other challenges to girls access to education.

Limited access to support is compounding the crisis. The UK Government’s recent reduction in official development assistance (ODA) is causing uncertainty for many aid programmes, and existing funding is failing to reach the frontline with maximum speed. The IDC heard that funding funnelled through multilateral organisations suffers from excessive bureaucracy.