UK scraps £45 million girls' education programme

Britain has scrapped a flagship £45 million programme aimed at helping one million girls across Africa, Asia and the Middle East gain access to higher education, just two years after it was announced.

The Strengthening Higher Education for Female Empowerment programme, known as SHEFE, was designed to expand university opportunities for women and girls, helping delay child marriage, reduce gender-based violence and improve economic opportunities.

The decision comes despite repeated government pledges to make women and girls a foreign policy priority.

Labour MP Bambos Charalambous described the move as alarming, warning that the aid cuts risk undermining years of progress in empowering women through education.

Development groups say the cancellation follows a series of cuts to UK-funded education programmes in countries including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.

According to UNICEF, global aid for education is expected to fall by 24 percent by 2026, putting millions more children at risk of missing out on school.

The Foreign Office says the reductions are needed to help fund increased defence spending, but insists programmes tackling violence against women and girls remain protected.