Dirk-Jan Koch on global aid cuts: 'We're right back to where we started'

Global cuts to development aid are forcing humanitarian organizations to focus increasingly on immediate, life-saving assistance rather than long-term development. Dirk-Jan Koch, Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), spoke to Dutch investigative television programme Zembla about the consequences of this shift.

International development cooperation is facing major funding cuts. Following cuts to US development assistance and reductions by European countries, aid organizations are increasingly being forced to prioritize food, medicine and emergency shelter over longer-term programmes in areas such as education, agriculture, water management and healthcare.

For Koch, this marks a fundamental change in international development cooperation.

‘We’re right back where we started,’ he told Zembla. What remains, he says, is increasingly the absolute minimum: ‘Back to basics. Only life-saving assistance. Only saving lives in the short term.’

From development to emergency relief

Zembla investigated the impact of the cuts in Kenya, including at Kakuma refugee camp. Its reception centre, designed for 3,885 people, is now accommodating more than 10,000 refugees amid shortages of food, water and shelter. Aid organizations say the withdrawal of US funding has had a particularly significant impact.

For Koch, Kakuma illustrates the wider consequences of this shift. While immediate assistance can save lives, declining investment in education, healthcare and livelihoods can make it harder for communities to build resilience and reduce their dependence on humanitarian aid.

The Netherlands is also reducing its development cooperation budget. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced €1.1 billion in additional investment over the next three years, partially reversing previously announced cuts of €2.4 billion annually from 2027.

The changing funding landscape raises a central question: what happens when development cooperation increasingly focuses on responding to immediate crises rather than preventing future ones? Koch warns that it risks being reduced to its most basic function: saving lives in the short term.