October 23rd, 2025

Campaign

Email your MP to make supporting Somali communities a continuing priority as UK aid cuts bite

Zamzam Foundation UK is concerned that the UK’s strong record of support for humanitarian aid and resilience building in Somalia and Somaliland may be wavering as aid cuts are implemented. 

 

We want the UK to sustain its support for people like Abdi (pictured) – a farmer in Jowhar who has successfully fought back against climate change to increase his family’s crop yields and income through a Zamzam Foundation project supported by the UK Government.

 

The Somali diaspora in the UK already play a vital role in supporting our ancestral homeland by sending remittances to family, investing in Somali businesses, and spreading the word about Somali humanitarian needs.

 

“The resilience of Somali communities never ceases to inspire me,” says Jawaahir Daahir MBE, Chair of Global Somali Diaspora. “But a lot of vital projects that poor communities rely on are under threat because of the unprecedented international aid cuts this year. Let’s make sure our MPs know what is going on, and urge them to make our concerns known to the Foreign Office and in parliament.”

 

Will you join us in raising this important issue by sending an email to your MP?

 

There is a simple three-step process for supporting our campaign:

  1. Confirm the identity of your MP if you do not already know, and get his or her email address, by entering your postcode at https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP 
  2. Use some or all of the suggested text in our template below to compose and send an email to your MP as soon as possible, and before the end of November.
  3. Email nadia@zamzamfoundation.org.uk to let us know that you have emailed your MP, identifying who your MP is. This third step enables us to keep track of which MPs have been contacted, facilitating any follow-up that may be required, and we can also then update campaign supporters via email or one of our regular newsletters.

 

Thank you for your support!

Email template 

 

Subject: Please ensure that Somalia communities remain a high priority for UK aid

 

Dear [MP’s name]

 

I am writing to you as a constituent, and as a member/friend of the Somali community in the UK, to express my deep concern about the possibility that Somali regions may be deprioritised as the UK Government implements aid cuts.

 

Somali communities face some of the world’s most severe challenges: ongoing conflict, worsening climate-related disasters like drought and floods, and repeated humanitarian crises. Families across the Somali diaspora, including here in the UK, see and feel these impacts very strongly through the experience of loved ones and communities back home.

 

The UK has long been a trusted partner to Somali communities. It has played a critical role through UK aid and diplomacy in helping people survive, recover and rebuild in very challenging circumstances. UK-funded programmes are making a real and positive difference, helping people adapt to climate change, create or restore livelihoods, and strengthen local systems so that fewer are trapped in cycles of displacement and poverty.

 

As you will know, severe UK aid cuts are currently being implemented, including a projected £3 billion reduction in the FCDO aid budget. I am gravely concerned that Somali people and communities could be deprioritised. Fragile contexts cannot afford to be forgotten. Cutting resilience and climate programming now will only deepen suffering, undermine stability, and increase the future costs of humanitarian response.

 

As your constituent, I ask you to:

 

  • Speak up for Somali communities in Parliament and in cross-party discussions on UK development and climate priorities.
  • Ensure that fragile and conflict-affected communities in Somali regions remain a priority in UK aid, even as overall resources are squeezed.

 

For the UK to live up to its values of compassion, leadership and global responsibility, I believe it is vitally important to continue to stand with the most vulnerable. Somali people are among them, and the UK’s partnership with the Somali people must not be abandoned.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this message and for representing our community’s voice on this vital issue.

 

Yours sincerely

 

[Your Name]

 

[Your constituency name or postcode]