London, United Kingdom, October 14, 2026 — Responding to the UK Foreign Secretary’s speech at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Annual Meetings, Flora Alexander, Executive Director, IRC UK, said,
“The Foreign Secretary is right that the global financial system is failing the countries that need it most. Extreme poverty is concentrating in conflict-affected states, yet people living through crisis are too often shut out of international support. The World Bank’s new strategy for fragile and conflict-affected countries is a positive step, especially its commitment to work more closely with civil society where crises are most acute. We welcome the UK’s leadership in pushing for this to be delivered.
“The gap is starkest in finance agreed before disaster strikes. People should not have to lose everything before help arrives, yet pre-arranged finance makes up just 1.2 per cent of crisis funding, and fragile states received only 7 per cent of that in 2024. Our evidence shows it works: in Nigeria and Somalia, cash paid ahead of floods and drought helped families protect their livelihoods instead of selling assets to survive. In Kenya, our drought insurance scheme has already supported more than 7,600 families. That is the difference between preventing a loss and rebuilding after it. Pre-arranged finance must reach countries facing conflict first.”