In the recent ODA budget announcement, the Foreign Secretary set out the UK’s new approach to foreign aid and international development.

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The renewed emphasis on supporting women and girls, alongside increased assistance for those living in fragile and conflict-affected states, is both welcome and necessary. However, this shift has not come without difficult and, in some cases, deeply concerning trade-offs.

Among them is the decision to withdraw UK support from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a programme the UK has long championed, and one that has helped drive polio to the brink of eradication worldwide.

Polio is a devastating disease. It attacks the nervous system, causing irreversible paralysis, severe respiratory complications, and, in some cases, death. Once contracted, there is no cure.

And yet it is entirely preventable through vaccination. In fact, since 1988, thanks to the tireless efforts of global partnerships and organisations like the GPEI, more than 2.5 billion........

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