The British government has cancelled the Strengthening Higher Education for Female Empowerment (SHEFE) programme, a £45 million initiative intended to increase access to higher education for one million women and girls across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, just two years after its launch. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed the tender had been withdrawn, with officials citing the need to redirect aid funds toward defence spending following Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to cut the UK aid budget to 0.3% of gross national income — its lowest recorded level. Critics, including lawmakers and international development groups, say the cancellation contradicts the government's stated commitment to women and girls, and comes amid a broader pattern of cuts to education programmes in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone; UNICEF estimates that falling international aid to education could leave six million more children out of school by the end of the year.