Long Story Short

In this special edition episode of This Week in Global Development, sponsored by Public Digital, Devex's Alan Robbins sits down with Public Digital's Lauren Kahn and Mike Bracken CBE. Recorded at Devex Impact House during UNGA, they unpack the urgent need for emerging economies to transition from passive "tech-takers" to active "tech-makers" by reclaiming digital sovereignty. The conversation explores how developing nations can avoid the developmental risks of vendor lock-in, shape local digital ecosystems, and build resilient digital public infrastructure (DPI). Kahn and Bracken highlight practical steps for governments to move from traditional aid to strategic agency, leveraging open standards and investing in internal civil service capabilities to ensure critical systems can survive future crises. Dive deeper into these frameworks in Public Digital's newly released book, Digital Sovereignty: The Power to Decide: https://public.digital/pd-books/digital-sovereignty-the-power-to-decide

In a live episode of the Theory of Change podcast, Buddy Shah, CEO of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and chair of the Anthropic Long Term Benefit Trust, shared an inside look at the intersection of global health, market-shaping agreements, and artificial intelligence. "The mistake that many of us are making ... is looking for an AI point solution. What's a cool use case where you can develop an AI tool and slot it into an existing system? And I think the much more important question is: If you could redesign the system for a world where you have very powerful AI tools, what would that look like?" Shah said during the podcast, which was recorded last week at the Devex Impact House in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Shah pulled back the curtain on CHAI's landmark deal to secure generic manufacturing of lenacapavir — a twice-yearly injectable drug offering 99% effectiveness against HIV infection. By negotiating the price down from $28,000 per year in the U.S. to $40 per patient per year in lower-income countries, Shah explained how CHAI, Gilead, generic manufacturers, and global health partners believe they are creating a path that could spell the end of HIV over the next decade. Addressing his dual role managing corporate governance at Anthropic, Shah previewed how artificial intelligence could fundamentally reshape health delivery in low- and middle-income countries through mobile diagnostics and AI clinical assistants. He emphasized that LMICs may leapfrog high-income nations in adopting these technologies, while highlighting how incoming philanthropic capital from the AI sector could help fund major systemic solutions.

Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei made headlines recently by calling for slowing the development of increasingly powerful AI models to give safety measures time to catch up. That only increased the urgency of another effort within the company, which is expanding: An initiative to help governments and nonprofits use the models available today. Elizabeth Kelly leads that effort as Anthropic's head of “beneficial deployments,” which works with governments and nonprofits to put Claude, the company's AI model, to use. Before joining Anthropic, she led the U.S. AI Safety Institute, which worked to evaluate risk and develop safety standards for frontier AI systems. In a live recording of the Global Progress in the AI Era podcast at Devex Impact House on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, she argued that her past and present roles are connected. “Safety and access are two sides of the same coin,” Kelly said. “We are not going to see any of the benefits from AI unless we really invest in safety.” Anthropic used speaking engagements this week at UNGA81 to showcase organizations working with its technology. At its own event on Tuesday, titled The Briefing, speakers included Meenakshi Ramesh, CEO of Pratham Education Foundation, Rwanda's Minister of Information and Communications Technology and Innovation Paula Ingabire, and Rania Dagash-Kamara from the U.N.'s World Food Programme. In the podcast interview, Kelly expanded on Anthropic's partnership with Rwanda, its first multisector government partnership in Africa, which was announced earlier this year. She also pointed to Anthropic's work with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, on producing situation reports during the recent Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Other examples she cited included the International Rescue Committee's work on child malnutrition in Nigeria and maternal care in Burkina Faso.

This week we are closely tracking the conversations at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly and what they mean for the global development sector. From U.S. President Donald Trump's speech rejecting international governance frameworks and championing national sovereignty to questions around AI regulation, we break down what the discussions at the U.N.'s headquarters in New York mean for this new era of global policy. Beyond reflecting on outgoing U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres' legacy, we unpack the latest developments in the secretary-general race. Amid the leadership discussions, we analyze whether traditional development priorities are increasingly taking a back seat to broader geopolitical tensions and global security issues. To dig into these topics, Adva Saldinger sits down with Colum Lynch for a live recording of our weekly podcast series.

In a live episode of the Theory of Change podcast recorded at the Devex Impact House in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, David Beasley, the former World Food Programme executive director and former governor of South Carolina, laid out his playbook for navigating today's increasingly hostile political climate — while leaving the door at least somewhat open for his own return to the political arena. Beasley — who led the U.N.'s food security agency when it won the Nobel Peace Prize — shared his journey from working in South Carolina tobacco fields to negotiating with the Taliban to feed starving children to battling with billionaire Elon Musk on Twitter. He described the culture shock of a United Nations outsider confronted with bureaucracy and jargon, and offered his diagnosis for why the development sector keeps getting its pitch wrong. Beasley offered a bleak assessment of current humanitarian aid cuts, calling the domestic political environment “horrific” and warning that Western nations are actively undermining their own geopolitical stability. “America is great because America is good, and if we ever cease to be good, we cease to be great. And right now, we're not being good,” he said.

This week, we report on the Gates Foundation's 2026 Goalkeepers Report, which includes a $1 billion pledge to make AI more inclusive. The funding aims to expand access across health, education, agriculture, and digital equity to directly benefit the global south. We unpack how AI can help lower-income nations tackle critical challenges while ensuring local communities remain central to the process. From the highly anticipated leadership races for the top jobs at the United Nations and World Health Organization, to a critical high-level meeting on pandemic preparedness, we discuss the major themes ahead of UNGA 81, as well as highlight the sessions we are most excited for at Devex Impact House. To dig into these topics, Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Anna Gawel and Catherine Cheney for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. In the segment of the podcast funded by GSK/ViiV Healthcare, Devex Executive Vice President and Executive Editor Kate Warren speaks with GSK's Chief Global Health Officer, Dr. Harmony Garges. They explore how community-led models, local health worker support, and strategic partnerships are addressing last-mile delivery challenges — from integrating malaria vaccines into primary healthcare in Liberia and Sierra Leone to expanding access to HIV care globally — ensuring much-needed health innovations reach remote and underserved communities. Request to attend Devex Impact House @ UNGA here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-unga-81.html

In an interview on Devex's Theory of Change podcast, Alight CEO Jocelyn Wyatt warned that the traditional humanitarian business model is facing structural failure. Following the collapse of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the transition of U.S. foreign aid programs to the U.S. State Department, organizations are having to rely on more rigid grants from United Nations agencies that typically cap overhead at 7%, leaving virtually no resources for operational leadership, compliance, or innovation, Wyatt said. Global humanitarian assistance fell by roughly 30% between 2022 and 2025, with 13 of the 20 largest donors cutting relief aid in 2025, according to the latest State of the Humanitarian System report, released last week. Wyatt highlighted how structural defects and funding restrictions in the traditional framework actively undermine long-term progress: • The misallocation problem: Private donor funding floods highly publicized, geopolitical conflicts (such as Ukraine), while long-term, acute humanitarian disasters (such as Sudan) receive virtually no private support due to public narrative fatigue, donor bias, and political media coverage. • Survival over solutions: With institutional funds shrinking, remaining aid is strictly funneled into immediate lifesaving care, stripping away funding for education, job training, and economic development that actually helps people transition out of displacement. • Failing durable pathways: The three traditional solutions for refugees — returning home, integrating locally, or third-country resettlement — have largely stalled or collapsed under political and financial strain. “This world order and these systems that were developed post-World War II have seemed like they're hitting their expiration date, and they will need to be reinvented. But that is not happening in 2026 or 2027, probably 2028. So in the interim, we need to find ways to help people be able to provide for themselves and their families,” Wyatt said. To survive the breakdown of the traditional model, Wyatt argues that humanitarian organizations must pivot toward financial self-reliance and market-driven solutions. “Let's actually put our resources to social enterprise models where we can recycle capital, where we can help people start businesses. Let's actually train people and connect them with employers so that they can get jobs and make money for themselves,” she said. “To think that governments are going to be the continuous providers of financial support to refugees ... I think is just a fallacy at this point,” she added.

In this special episode of the This Week in Global Development podcast, sponsored by Rippleworks, Devex Senior Editor for Special Coverage Catherine Cheney sits down with Doug Galen, CEO of Rippleworks, and Azeez Gupta, co-founder of Rocket Learning, to reimagine how philanthropy thinks about scale. As foreign aid budgets shrink, most conversations stop at the number cut. This one asks a different question: What if the real constraint isn't how much capital is available, but what that capital is allowed to pay for? Unpacking Rocket Learning's growth through sustained operational support, the conversation makes the case that flexible, founder-friendly capital shouldn't be the exception in philanthropy — it should be the default.

This week, we discuss our in-depth story on Operation End Starvation, a new initiative aiming to remake the global malnutrition supply chain. With a focus on cost-effectiveness, the project pairs public cash for ready-to-use therapeutic foods, or RUTFs, with philanthropic dollars to fund manufacturers, transporters, and delivery partners worldwide. The initiative represents a wider shift in foreign aid — for example, it bypasses the traditional multilateral system — and critics argue it still isn't cost-effective enough and is siphoning away crucial resources from broader hunger prevention efforts. We also reflect on our key takeaways from the Africa Food Systems Forum, including the innovations driving the future of African agriculture and how the continent's agribusiness sector is responding to a changing funding landscape to become more self-reliant. To dig into these stories, and others, Adva Saldinger sits down with Tania Karas and Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. In the sponsored segment of the podcast, hosted in partnership with The Pfizer Foundation*, Devex Executive Vice President and Executive Editor Kate Warren speaks with Dr. Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, about how AI-enabled tools are being piloted and refined alongside local communities — and what it takes for promising innovations to scale responsibly and advance equity. *Founded in 1953 by Pfizer Inc. as a charitable organization, The Pfizer Foundation is a separate legal entity from Pfizer Inc. with distinct legal restrictions.

In the latest episode of the Theory of Change podcast, human rights activist Kavita Nandini Ramdas discussed the deep systemic contradictions of modern philanthropy, its uneasy relationship with grassroots activism, and why nonprofit organizations must stop playing quiet to keep elite funding. Ramdas, currently a senior strategic adviser at the International Planned Parenthood Federation, has spent years fighting both inside and outside major philanthropy — including as a close adviser to some of the world's most prominent foundation leaders. What she sees today is a philanthropic sector that is “running afraid from Trump” and recipient organizations that rarely challenge their funders. “It's really as though we've gone back to the medieval ages and Lady Bountiful is riding on her white horse and throwing crumbs to the masses below and we're scurrying around saying, ‘Thank you so much, thank you so much,'” she said. “It's as though we've gone back to feudal times.” The argument: Nonprofits must replace groveling with accountability. “Take the money, but have the damn courage to stand up and say, ‘This action was racist. This intervention is not acceptable,'” Ramdas said. Taking elite funding creates a direct “obligation to voice” — not a mandate for silence. On the Gates Foundation: Ramdas directly called out Bill Gates over his foundation's agricultural strategy in Africa during a meeting. She pointed out that the Green Revolution had already been an environmental disaster in India — destroying topsoil and drying up aquifers in Punjab — and asked why they were selling the exact same flawed model to Africa. As a result, they brought her in as an adviser. On Adele Simmons, former head of the MacArthur Foundation: “Here she was, this extraordinary person with three young kids — and what she had to deal with, this casual sexism that I saw thrown at her.” On Darren Walker, former head of the Ford Foundation: He told Ramdas that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” — a truth she applies now to philanthropy, noting that no matter how progressive a foundation's strategy claims to be, it is constantly swallowed by the surrounding patriarchal and capitalist culture.

We recently reported that roughly $7.5 billion in international affairs funding is set to expire by the end of this month. In a letter, more than 100 U.S. lawmakers have urged the State Department to spend the money. We unpack the situation and what it means for development spending, including the $3 billion previously slated for global health programs. While some politicians are urging the State Department to spend its expiring budget, Samaritan's Purse is turning down a $300 million federal grant. The organization's president, Franklin Graham, maintained that the group has “always relied on God, not government, for funding.” We discuss the potential reasons behind this move, noting that in addition to not being aligned with Samaritan's Purse's mission, the money may have been deemed too restrictive and relatively insignificant compared to its $1.8 billion revenue in 2024. To dig into these stories, and others, Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with reporters Sara Jerving and Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Check out Humanitarian Frontiers, a member of the Devex Podcast Network: https://humanitarianfrontiers.buzzsprout.com/

In the latest episode of the Theory of Change podcast, Nazanin Ash, CEO of Welcome.US, discussed how community-driven sponsorship could revolutionize refugee resettlement, bypass political gridlock, and offer a scalable alternative to overburdened government systems. Global forced displacement is at an all-time high, and standard, bureaucratic response models are failing to keep pace. Ash argued that mobilizing local communities rather than relying solely on government aid can unlock massive potential and provide orderly, human-centered pathways for newcomers. The problem: Traditional global systems are built for short-term, state-versus-state displacement, but modern conflicts — predominantly civil wars — are protracted, lasting decades on average. As a result, massive, unmanaged crises crowd out long-term development funds. “Civil wars burn forever. They're really tough to resolve. And our international tools for conflict resolution are really bad at solving them,” Ash said. By the numbers: By shifting the focus from a government-managed process to direct community sponsorship, Ash said that Welcome.US demonstrated unprecedented scale during recent crises such as the war in Ukraine: • 800,000 newcomers welcomed by American communities in under three years • Four times as many individuals resettled through private sponsorship than through formal U.S. government pathways over the same timeframe • $7 billion in time and money leveraged directly by local sponsors to pay for travel, housing, and integration • 2 million Americans across 26,000 zip codes participated in sponsoring displaced individuals “The appetite for doing this is so strong. The capacity to do it is so real,” Ash said. Unlike formal government systems that assign refugees to fixed locations based on strict physical requirements, Ash said that private matching platforms allow newcomers to exercise choice and retain dignity. “If you know something about humanitarian crises and forced displacement … what you experience most acutely is the loss of choice and the loss of agency. And of course, nothing about our traditional systems lets you have that choice or agency,” she said. Meanwhile, community members who sponsored families have become active advocates, filing lawsuits, lobbying Congress, and defeating hundreds of anti-immigrant state bills. “Proximity changes what you protect,” Ash said. What to watch: Welcome.US currently operates in the United States, and Ash said the organization has plenty of work on its plate. “But we did purchase the rights to Welcome.world,” she added.

At World Water Week in Stockholm, financing took center stage ahead of the U.N. Water Conference in Abu Dhabi this December. The annual gathering saw around 2,000 participants discuss water governance, security, and the rising pressures of a global water bankruptcy. However, attracting private investment remains difficult, with water projects often seen as offering low returns and traditionally relying on public funding. This has prompted a renewed focus on the World Bank's "Water Forward" initiative, which aims to make the sector more attractive to investors. Meanwhile, the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network conference in New Delhi, India, brought together philanthropists, impact investors, and nonprofits to discuss how the region's own capital can be mobilized to tackle development challenges instead of relying on traditional foreign aid. While AVPN attendees looked to local philanthropy to finance areas such as mental health and cervical cancer research, the broader global health sector is facing severe funding pressures. One example is the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, which faces a more than $100 million funding shortfall for efforts to combat the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. To explore how these financing challenges are playing out across the development sector, Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Tania Karas and Jenny Lei Ravelo for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to Devex Impact House @ UNGA 81 here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-unga-81.html

What is “country ownership,” really? And what gets in the way of making it a reality? Against a backdrop of historic cuts to development assistance by many of the world's largest donors, the chorus of voices calling for national governments to set — and finance — their own development agendas is growing louder. Yemi Osinbajo, the former vice president of Nigeria and co-chair of the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition, has seen firsthand what happens when international donors and national development priorities are aligned — or not. Osinbajo joined the Devex Theory of Change podcast to challenge the myths and misconceptions around state capacity, corruption, and international finance. "Forget about giving cash or aid. Let's focus on systemic changes that can release the resources that African countries need for their development,” Osinbajo says. That means targeting markets and value chains that currently disadvantage lower-income countries, through systemic partnerships rather than one-off handouts, he says. It also means being honest about who is complicit in propping up systems that are plagued by corruption, or biased against regions perceived as risky, whether they truly are or not.

What if housing finance could help solve today's biggest challenges? In this special episode, Habitat for Humanity's Jacqueline Innocent reveals why housing is an upstream catalyst for health, education, and equality — and how inclusive finance can transform global housing systems.

Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, three of the world's most hunger-prone nations, were removed from the latest reporting by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network — a U.S.-based data and monitoring system which tracks hunger levels across the globe. The move leaves aid organizations supporting these countries in the dark, even though all three have seen an escalation in humanitarian needs. It's part and parcel of the Trump administration's broader posture toward the three nations, which have been virtually cut off from foreign assistance since early 2025. In Haiti, the Inter-American Development Bank is developing a $44 million agricultural program for smallholder farmers. But Haitian INGOs say that local farmers weren't consulted about the program design, raising broader questions about the role of communities in project development. Looking ahead to COP31, the U.N. climate summit faces a critical identity test. The conference must now shift from setting targets to delivering them. But this will be hard to navigate in an era where climate finance, geopolitics, and global trust remain under intense strain. To discuss these stories and others, Adva Saldinger sits down with Elissa Miolene and Jesse Chase-Lubitz for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to Devex Impact House @ UNGA 81 here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-unga-81.html

Twenty-five years ago, when Jacqueline Novogratz founded the impact investing nonprofit Acumen, she still had to prove that markets and entrepreneurship could work for people living in poverty — and help lift them out of it. In the years since, that has moved from a relatively fringe approach to fighting poverty, to the center of global development efforts. Development finance institutions, philanthropies, and asset managers are all looking for investable opportunities — and speaking the language of impact. But something else has happened to — or hasn't happened — Novogratz said on Devex's Theory of Change podcast. The institutions and individuals who could provide critical “patient capital” in the early, riskier phases when it is most effective, are not jumping in as needed. For Novogratz, it points to a needed reckoning for a social impact sector that has grown up, but still hasn't realized its potential. “The capital that is available, and there's a lot of capital, is too expensive, it's too risk averse, and as a result, we see a lot of talk and a lot of hand-wringing when we could be structuring that capital under the rubric of impact investing and really creating impact,” she says.

In this episode of This Week in Global Development, Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Senior Reporters Michael Igoe and Sara Jerving to discuss the U.S. State Department's announcement to allocate nearly $2 billion to partnerships with faith-based and community organizations providing global health and humanitarian aid. It is the largest funding package of its kind in over two decades, and this week's guests discuss how the move is driven by the U.S. government's belief that faith-based groups are more cost-efficient, with the Trump administration arguing they have the potential to be more financially sustainable in the long term. This podcast episode explores whether these faith-based partnerships include non-Christian organizations, and whether this new approach will truly maximize impact.

In this week's special edition episode of the This Week in Global Development podcast, sponsored by the International Youth Foundation and the Caterpillar Foundation, we examine how shifting labor markets, automation, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the job landscape, leaving millions of young people out of work even as employers face widespread skill shortages. We're joined by Christina Sass, president and CEO of IYF, and Asha Varghese, president of the Caterpillar Foundation and head of corporate social responsibility for Caterpillar Inc., to explore why addressing this transition from education to employment is not just a youth issue, but a critical development priority. The discussion also looks at the power of long-term partnerships in creating systemic, scalable workforce solutions. Highlighting nearly two decades of collaboration through the EquipYouth initiative, and tens of thousands of young people reached, our guests share how combining technical training with essential life skills builds youth agency, resilience, and lasting economic opportunity. The conversation also delves into aligning hiring and training with evolving local and global industry needs, navigating the impacts of AI, and why long-term ecosystem investments outperform short-term grants in achieving sustainable solutions.

For over two decades, the U.S. government has been a lynchpin in the global fight against HIV, pouring billions of dollars into treatment, prevention, and health systems strengthening through initiatives like the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. Then came Elon Musk, the foreign aid freeze, and a disruptive set of reforms to U.S. global health programs under President Donald Trump's “America First” Global Health Strategy. Against the backdrop of this tumultuous moment, the question remains: Was the old framework built to sustain solutions, or merely to sustain itself? Mark Dybul, who led PEPFAR from 2006 to 2009, joined the Theory of Change podcast to deliver a blunt assessment of the legacy and current trajectory of foreign assistance. Reflecting on the evolution of former President George W. Bush's signature global health initiative, Dybul addressed the sharp criticisms now driving a broader push for reform. While acknowledging the lifesaving impact of past initiatives, Dybul pointed to a fundamental failure in long-term strategy: The shift toward true local ownership never fully materialized. In Dybul's view, Musk's Department of Government Efficiency surfaced uneasy truths about how the U.S. government has worked with countries to end the AIDS epidemic — and the opportunities that were missed along the way. "The diagnosis was correct. That indictment was correct. I mean, to be honest, it turned my stomach that 25 years later we were spending the same amount of money as when I walked out the door. That wasn't the plan." He also pushed back on projections that PEPFAR funding cuts could cause thousands of deaths, arguing that these underestimate governments' ability to protect health programs — as well as opportunities for greater efficiency. As global health systems undergo a rapid overhaul, Dybul argues that the next 12 to 18 months represent a critical window. They must either adapt to a model centered on country sovereignty, local innovation, and mutual economic partnership, or risk watching the entire architecture collapse.

This week, we discuss The Aid Report, a project supported by a media grant from the Gates Foundation to track the real-world impacts of U.S. foreign aid cuts. Over the past couple of months, the initiative has documented more than 1,000 verified impacts across multiple countries and sectors. We examine the major trends and surprises that emerged, discuss what lessons policymakers and donors can take away, and explore the questions that still remain unanswered. To unpack these findings, Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Kelli Rogers and Rashad Nimr for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. The podcast is taking a short break next week. We'll be back with a new episode the following week. Check out Perdure, a member of the Devex Podcast Network, via the link below: https://open.spotify.com/show/7CMiGygkWqhtoYfXVLuOQM?si=a07177387e314420&nd=1&dlsi=8866940a467843b4

Philanthropists and global development donors have made a lot of promises about supporting local leaders and community-based organizations. But their insistence on finding scalable models might be getting in the way of a simpler achievement: helping people. Kakenya Ntaiya is a one-woman case study in persistence. As a girl in southwestern Kenya, she underwent the traditional Masaai practice of female genital mutilation — a precursor to marriage and motherhood. But she negotiated with her father to stay in school, secured a scholarship to attend college in the United States, and used her education to scrutinize the very cultural practices that she — and the other women in her village — were born into. As the founder of Kakenya's Dream, a nonprofit organization, Ntaiya has returned to Kenya to open up spaces for discussion of cultural taboos — and educational opportunities for thousands of girls. Ntaiya joined the Theory of Change podcast to share her experiences navigating complex community politics, pushing for cultural change, and confronting the blind spots in modern international philanthropy that get in the way of improving people's lives.

This week we look back at the last 18 months of U.S. foreign assistance — a period defined by the dismantling of USAID and the absorption of foreign aid strategy into the State Department. We break down the types of initiatives the Trump administration is prioritizing and where the funding is flowing. On the other side of the Atlantic, the European Union is currently in the process of negotiating the bloc's next seven-year budget. The new financial framework could mark a turning point for European aid, formalizing a shift from development-first spending toward an approach that increasingly serves member states' geopolitical and economic interests. To dig into these stories and others, Adva Saldinger sits down with Michael Igoe and Jesse Chase-Lubitz for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Redeem your Devex Pro discount: https://www.devex.com/upgrade/payment?package_short_name=PRO&payment_page_permalink=pro-discount-fortypercent&utm_medium=link&utm_source=newswire&utm_campaign=pro_week_2026

U.S. foreign aid advocacy groups are soul-searching in the wake of the Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and deep cuts to U.S. foreign assistance. Bipartisan support for U.S. aid programs crumbled quickly in the face of Elon Musk's attack on the agency via the Department of Government Efficiency, and USAID's legacy is now viewed through a starkly polarized political lens. In the aftermath of that collapse, advocacy organizations are trying to regain their footing — including by hiring conservative political veterans into key roles. Jim Richardson, a longtime congressional staffer and former aide to Mike Pompeo, coordinated one of the largest reorganization efforts in USAID's history during Trump's first term. He recently joined the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition — one of the most influential “soft power” advocacy groups in Washington, D.C. — as national outreach director. He joined the Theory of Change podcast to discuss the future of U.S. development advocacy — and what it will take to rebuild support for aid programs. "We have to really go back to the basics,” he said. “Where does the U.S. government have a comparative advantage? What does the power of international assistance do? What can it do?”

With the FIFA World Cup entering its final week, we explore how NGOs operating in participating nations can leverage the tournament's spotlight to advance their work. While tournament hype is notoriously fleeting, we break down how NGOs can translate a short-term spike in curiosity into sustained long-term impact. We also discuss our key takeaways from the United Nations' Global Dialogue for AI Governance and the International Telecommunication Union's AI for Good Summit, both of which we covered on the ground in Geneva, Switzerland. From the absence of major AI labs to how lower- and middle-income countries are demanding an equal voice in global tech regulation, we explore why the development sector must stop leaving AI's future to technologists alone. To dig into these stories and others, David Ainsworth sits down with Catherine Cheney and Thomas Cserep for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. In the sponsored segment of the podcast, hosted in partnership with The Pfizer Foundation, Devex Executive Vice President and Executive Editor Kate Warren speaks with Freddy Nkosi, Senior Director of Global Programs for West and Central Africa & DRC Country Director at VillageReach. They explore how locally-led supply chains and data-informed approaches are helping countries, such as the DRC and Cameroon, address last-mile challenges, supporting efforts to ensure vaccines reach remote and underserved communities when and where they are needed.

Global health is entering a period of profound upheaval. As governments reassess foreign aid, donors rethink decades-old models, and African leaders push for greater ownership of their health systems, one question looms over the sector: Who should hold the power to shape global health? Dr. Ebere Okereke is a prominent voice in that conversation. She joins Theory of Change for a wide-ranging conversation with Devex Senior Reporter Michael Igoe about the risks and opportunities of this massive global health shakeup. "Everything's about power. Everything is about politics. But it's also about understanding what power you have," Okereke says. She reflects on the consequences of the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the rise of bilateral health agreements, the promise of the Accra Reset, and why African governments must play a far greater role in defining and financing their own priorities. At the same time — with disease outbreaks still testing national response systems — she cautions against retreating from global collaboration, arguing instead for a model that is "locally owned, regionally anchored, but remain[s] part of a global architecture."

With uncertainty lingering over its future, we discuss a new UNAIDS interim report outlining potential pathways forward — including further downsizing the secretariat, turning it into a U.N.-hosted hub, or merging it with another health entity. During the conversation, we explore UNAIDS' alternative suggestions, as well as how this imminent transition fits into the wider restructuring of the global health architecture. As the Ebola emergency continues across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, responders are facing a lack of community trust. During the 2018–2020 outbreak of the disease, aid workers subjected the locals to widespread sexual abuse and exploitation. We discuss whether the humanitarian sector is doing enough to prevent history from repeating itself. To dig into these stories and others, Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with senior reporters Jenny Lei Ravelo and Sara Jerving for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to Devex CheckUp here: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/devex-checkup

This week we discuss Jeremy Lewin's departure from the U.S. State Department's foreign aid bureau to the White House. His transition to the National Security Council ends a controversial leadership marked by the retreat of the U.S. from its long-held role as the world's leading bilateral donor. He is expected to be replaced by Andrew Veprek, who has pushed immigration and refugee restrictions at the State Department. As the United Nations continues to face budgetary constraints, we also analyze the potential merger of two major U.N. development agencies: the U.N. Development Programme, or UNDP, and UNOPS. While Secretary-General António Guterres sees this ambitious development reform as a way to overcome a yawning funding gap, UNDP chief Alexander De Croo and UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva have butted heads over their vastly different visions for the future. During the conversation we also discuss our key takeaways from the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, including a new initiative that is designed to tackle debt, trade, climate finance, and multilateral reform to help reset the terms of global cooperation. To dig into these stories and others, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with U.N. correspondent Colum Lynch and reporter Jesse Chase-Lubitz for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. How can climate and nature investments move from ambition to action? In the sponsored segment of the episode, recorded live at Devex Impact House during London Climate Action Week, Kate Warren, Executive Editor and Executive Vice President at Devex, speaks with Waqas Batley, Senior Director, Conservation and Climate Finance Policy at The Nature Conservancy. Together, they explore how policy advocacy can help countries develop the plans, financial roadmaps, and regulatory systems needed to attract investment in nature and climate. The conversation looks at why nature should be understood as economic infrastructure, what finance ministries can do to send clearer signals to investors, and how approaches such as country platforms can help turn national climate and biodiversity priorities into investable pipelines. Sign up to Devex Invested: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/invested

This special two-part edition of This Week in Global Development comes to you from the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, where leaders from across development, government, business and civil society gather to debate the big questions facing the global economy — from climate and debt to security, trade, and the future of international cooperation. In part one, Devex Global Development Reporter Ayenat Mersie speaks with Achim Steiner, chair of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference and former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, to explore a question at the heart of today's geopolitical moment: Are governments preparing for the wrong kinds of threats? As defense budgets climb around the world, Steiner tells Ayenat that countries risk neglecting the investments that actually make societies more secure, from climate resilience and affordable clean energy to digital infrastructure. He also explains why sustainability should be seen not as a sacrifice, but as an opportunity to strengthen economies, lower costs, and build resilience. In part two, Ayenat speaks with Sierra Leone Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, who talks about “the politics of painful choices” — the difficult trade-offs governments face when debt burdens, aid cuts, and external shocks leave little room for long-term investment. He reflects on balancing immediate needs with climate action, why he believes countries need new tools to absorb global shocks, and what sustainability looks like from the perspective of a government under severe fiscal pressure.

In a special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, Devex cofounder and Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Brazilian thoracic surgeon Dr. Ricardo Sales do Santos to discuss a revolutionary approach to tackling lung cancer in medically underserved communities in Brazil. As the most lethal form of cancer globally, lung cancer often goes undetected until its final stages, but Dr. Santos and the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation are working to change that narrative through a combination of mobile technology and local capacity building. By bringing advanced CT scanning units directly into high-risk, low-income communities, they are catching tumors when they are small and potentially curable, fundamentally shifting the odds for thousands of patients. The conversation also touches on the logistical and cultural hurdles of delivering specialized oncology care to remote areas. Dr. Santos highlights the importance of “bringing the clinic to the patient,” utilizing mobile CT units and telemedicine to bridge the gap in healthcare access. Beyond the technology, the success of the program relies heavily on empowering local health workers and community members to recognize early cancer warning signs and overcome the stigma associated with a cancer diagnosis. This approach not only improves individual health outcomes but also strengthens the broader healthcare system, offering a scalable model for global health initiatives. To learn more about sustainable improvements in cancer care and get a compelling look at how local solutions can drive global change, listen to this special edition of This Week in Global Development. For more international development news, visit: http://www.devex.com Visit Strengthening Care Systems — a series raising awareness of the scale of the global lung cancer burden and the systems-level changes required to address it: https://pages.devex.com/strengtheningcaresystems.html

Rachel Kyte has spent decades shaping global climate change policy — from the World Bank to the United Nations to the United Kingdom. More than a decade since the signing of the Paris climate agreement, Kyte — the U.K. special representative for climate — is both inspired by how much has been done to tackle the climate crisis, and clear-eyed about the fact that it is not enough. "It's joyful, tinged with deep sadness and regret,” she told Devex Senior Reporter Michael Igoe on the latest episode of Theory of Change. Against the backdrop of a sweltering London Climate Action Week, Kyte outlined her vision for “financing climate.” That is a vision that stretches well beyond the narrower realm of “climate finance,” to include bolder transformations of trade, international relations, and public services. "People want affordable electricity, they want clean air, they want clean water, they want protection against extreme heat, and they want flood control,” Kyte said. "We have to be much better at taking the message to people and speaking with optimism and hope about why this is good for them,” she added.

As London Climate Action Week gets into full swing, we break down the key talking points from the conference so far. With the city in the midst of a scorching heat wave, the discussion of climate change feels even more urgent than usual. We explore the transactional landscape that developing nations face, where much-needed capital is increasingly tied to the private sector. Beyond the balance sheets, one of the current tensions is the collision between green ambitions and economic survival. From the push for rapid electrification to the rollout of Europe's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, African nations are being forced to thread a near-impossible needle: industrializing their economies while navigating low-carbon mandates. Complicating matters is a growing communications crisis within the sector itself. To secure funding and dodge political blowback, many NGOs are camouflaging their climate work under the banners of health, food, or energy security. However, driving the climate conversation underground risks leaving the communities most vulnerable to extreme weather out of the spotlight when they need it most. To bring you the latest from London Climate Action Week, Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with global development reporters Ayenat Mersie and Jesse Chase-Lubitz for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Against a backdrop of record-breaking heat in Europe and growing political pressure to slow climate ambition, Marcene Mitchell, senior vice president of climate change at WWF USA, joins Devex Executive Editor and Executive Vice President Kate Warren to make the case for staying the course. Marcene challenges the “small drop” argument — the idea that individual countries acting on climate don't matter — and reframes clean energy and nature-based solutions not as a cost, but as an economic and strategic imperative. She breaks down how electrification and the AI-era's energy demand can be decoupled from fossil fuels, why energy security is itself a climate argument, and what WWF USA — an organization most people associate with conservation — is quietly doing on climate finance and supply chains around the world. Learn how WWF USA is working globally to turn climate ambition into investable pipelines, and why the solutions to get there already exist. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters: https://www.devex.com/account/newsletters

Development economist William Easterly famously does not mince words about the disappointments of anti-poverty megaprojects and far-fetched foreign aid plans. For much of his career, Easterly has taken aim at experts who export their visions onto other people's countries and communities — drawing from his own experience as one of those very experts. In his latest book, “Violent Saviors: The West's Conquest of the Rest,” Easterly unearths the long history of what he calls “the development right of conquest,” a worldview that has sacrificed individual rights and agency at the altar of material gain. He traces the long-standing tension between those who pushed for development at all costs and the dissenting voices who resisted them. In the fourth episode of Theory of Change, Easterly unpacks the implications of that history for contemporary development efforts. He reflects on what alternative approaches to improving human well-being might look like — and what role aid institutions should play in pursuing them. “There's this technocratic illusion that you can reduce development to just technology and effectiveness of achieving measurable gains and these technical indicators of well-being,” he tells Devex Senior Reporter Michael Igoe. “I think we all realize deep down the fantasy of keeping things purely technocratic is really a fantasy, that there really is a whole other dimension,” Easterly says.

In our landmark 150th episode, we discuss a common theme in global development over the past 18 months: the state of U.S. foreign aid. We're seeing the State Department steadily replenish its workforce, with dozens of open roles across the agency's global health, international aid, and disaster response bureaus. On the topic of U.S. foreign assistance, last week Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the U.S. remains the world's top aid provider "by far" despite the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development. While provisional figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development indicate that Germany has officially overtaken the U.S. for the top spot, we find that the reality is more complex as the validity of the claim hinges entirely on how "aid" is defined. We break down the data and the nuance behind the figures. To discuss these stories, and others, Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Business Editor David Ainsworth and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for episode number 150 of our weekly podcast series. Register for Devex Impact House @ London Climate Action Week here.: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-london-climate-action-week.html

U.S. foreign aid is undergoing one of the most tumultuous transformations in its history. The Department of Government Efficiency's dismantling of USAID and transfer of its remaining programs to the State Department upended the U.S. global development industry. But it's much more than a question of organizational charts and institutional responsibilities. At stake are fundamental questions about America's national interests, how the well-being of people in other countries should influence economic and trade policy, and the nature of public support for a long-term vision of development investment. Gayle Smith has faced those questions from a variety of vantage points — senior director for development and democracy on the White House National Security Council, USAID administrator, CEO of the ONE Campaign. In this episode of Theory of Change, she shares a candid assessment of where the fight for U.S. leadership in global development should go from here — and who should lead the charge.

At this year's annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Riga, Latvia, discussions centered on a critical structural shift: what development finance should look like in an age of persistent volatility. Ukraine is increasingly shaping the answer, as the bank's sustained financing during the war emerges as a potential blueprint for future conflicts. We were also on the ground for the World Bank Fragility Forum, an event uniting global stakeholders to address the challenges of operating in areas experiencing fragility, conflict, and violence. The deteriorating situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo emerged as a central discussion point. Highlighting the complexity of aid delivery in active conflict zones, the governor of the DRC's South Kivu province issued a stark call to withhold funding for development projects until baseline peace and stability are secured. Examining the Trump administration's “America First” foreign policy, we also contemplate how to ensure that domestic resource mobilization becomes an effective way to increase development finance. To dig into these stories and others, Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Managing Editor Anna Gawel and Global Development Reporter Jesse Chase-Lubitz for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to Devex Invested, our free, semiweekly newsletter bringing you the insider brief on business, finance, and the SDGs: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/invested

Much of Seth Berkley's career has been an attempt to answer the question: How do you get vaccines to people who aren't well-served by an inequitable global health system? When the COVID-19 outbreak exploded in early 2020, that question took on new urgency — along with a mind-spinning slew of political, economic, technological, and cultural complications. Berkley, then the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, had a pretty good idea what was coming. As early as February 2020 he was warning publicly that if researchers were successful in developing a COVID-19 vaccine, lower-income countries would struggle to access them. That is exactly what happened. It is also what led Berkley to help launch COVAX, the global initiative to deliver COVID-19 vaccines around the world. In the wake of the pandemic, the relationships between politics, society, and vaccines have only grown more fraught. One example: Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has personally intervened to block U.S. funding to Gavi. Berkley, a physician and infectious disease epidemiologist, joined Devex's Theory of Change podcast to discuss the lessons of the COVID-19 response, the long and complicated history of humanity's relationships with vaccines, the incredible potential of new technologies — and the deeply troubling risks that some of them pose. His new book is called “Fair Doses: An Insider's Story of the Pandemic and the Global Fight for Vaccine Equity.”

This week, we unpack the latest on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. With no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo species driving the spread, we dive into the race to develop a vaccine and the critical funding shortfalls standing in the way. While pledges have been made, much of that support has yet to reach those affected on the ground. We also discuss the congressional hearings on Trump's fiscal year 2027 foreign affairs budget request, which featured a debate on the Ebola crisis. With this being the first outbreak since the dismantling of USAID, we break down the United States' approach to the health emergency. To dig into these stories and others, Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Senior Reporters Sara Jerving and Michael Igoe for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Check out Devex's new podcast series Theory of Change: https://www.devex.com/focus/theory_of_change

Coefficient Giving, one of the world's largest effective-giving funders, is about to go even bigger. On the heels of its biggest funding year ever in 2025 — in which it channeled over $1 billion to highest-impact causes — the organization formerly known as Open Philanthropy and funded by Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna is eyeing annual growth upward of 50% and bringing on more staff to get it done. The person behind that vision is Alexander Berger, Coefficient Giving's cofounder and CEO. Berger is in charge of turning Facebook wealth — and, increasingly, funds from other donors — into as many lives saved and improved as possible. The organization is a major funder in global health and development, catastrophic risk, research and innovation, and even farm animal welfare. Last week, Coefficient Giving launched a new pooled fund to tackle Group A Streptococcus — an easily treated disease that is still responsible for nearly 700,000 deaths a year — a cause that reflects the organization's framework for tackling problems that are important, neglected, and tractable. In a rare, in-depth interview with Devex Senior Reporter Michael Igoe, Berger sheds light on Coefficient Giving's rapid growth plans, its strategy for choosing high-impact causes, the rise of artificial intelligence philanthropy, and his own approach to affecting change in an uncertain world. This is the first episode of Theory of Change, a new podcast series from Devex featuring candid interviews with leaders shaping the future of global development.

In this episode, we look back at the conferences we reported from over the past few weeks, reflecting on how global development narratives are evolving across both the global north and the global south. With traditional donors stepping back, the African Development Bank is using its annual meetings to urge governments to fix tax inefficiencies and better mobilize domestic resources to drive sustainable economic development. We found similar themes at the OECD's Future of Development Co-Operation conference in Paris and the Global Partnerships Conference in London, where unlocking private capital and prioritizing country-led development emerged as key talking points. To analyze these trends, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Business Editor David Ainsworth and Global Development Reporter Ayenat Mersie for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to Devex Invested: https://www.devex.com/newsletters/invested

Filmed live from Geneva, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly, this episode of This Week in Global Development delves into the critical debates unfolding on the ground in Geneva. That includes the tense atmosphere following the World Health Organization's rare decision to proclaim a global health emergency over the latest Ebola outbreak, mounting fears regarding the virus tracking into dense urban centers, and how containment efforts are hindered by strict funding restrictions that leave the vast majority of voluntary budgets tied up. The discussion also looks at the highly anticipated — yet heavily criticized — joint strategy to reform global health infrastructure, capturing the frustration of analysts who feel the plan avoids essential conversations about institutional mergers. The behind-the-scenes maneuvering for the next WHO director-general selection enters the conversation as well, along with the complex legislative hurdles facing the African Medicines Agency as it strives to secure pharmaceutical independence across the continent.

In a special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, Devex cofounder and Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Brazilian thoracic surgeon Dr. Ricardo Sales do Santos to discuss a revolutionary approach to tackling lung cancer in medically underserved communities in Brazil.   As the most lethal form of cancer globally, lung cancer often goes undetected until its final stages, but Dr. Santos and the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (are working to change that narrative through a combination of mobile technology and local capacity building. By bringing advanced CT scanning units directly into high-risk, low-income communities, they are catching tumors when they are small and potentially curable, fundamentally shifting the odds for thousands of patients.   The conversation also touches on the logistical and cultural hurdles of delivering specialized oncology care to remote areas. Dr. Santos highlights the importance of “bringing the clinic to the patient,” utilizing mobile CT units and telemedicine to bridge the gap in healthcare access. Beyond the technology, the success of the program relies heavily on empowering local health workers and community members to recognize early cancer warning signs and overcome the stigma associated with a cancer diagnosis. This approach not only improves individual health outcomes but also strengthens the broader healthcare system, offering a scalable model for global health initiatives.   To learn more about sustainable improvements in cancer care and get a compelling look at how local solutions can drive global change, listen to this special edition of This Week in Global Development. For more international development news, visit: http://www.devex.com Visit  Strengthening Care Systems — a series raising awareness of the scale of the global lung cancer burden and the systems-level changes required to address it: https://pages.devex.com/strengtheningcaresystems.html

This week, we look ahead to the key talking points at the 79th World Health Assembly, where the Devex team will be reporting from next week. As the World Health Organization continues to operate on a deficit, and with the U.S. withdrawal from the agency, we dig into what the future holds for WHO and how this shifting financial landscape will reshape the global health architecture. With WHO facing funding constraints, we explore how this financial shortfall could impact the agency's response to the new hantavirus outbreak and its ongoing fight against HIV. During the episode, we also highlight the sessions we are most looking forward to at Devex Impact House, happening on the sidelines of WHA. Secure your spot by registering here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-wha-79.html To offer a preview of the 79th WHA, Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with reporters Jenny Lei Ravelo and Andrew Green for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. You can now also request an in-person invite or register for on-demand content for our upcoming Devex Impact House @ London Climate Action Week here: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-london-climate-action-week.html

In this special episode of This Week in Global Development, Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, joins Devex Managing Editor Anna Gawel to discuss a paradigm shift in African infrastructure investment. Africa50, a pan-African investor, is moving beyond one-off projects to aggregate large-scale, “institution-grade” sustainable energy assets. By shifting the narrative from a development imperative to a viable commercial opportunity, Ebobissé explains how his organization is attracting both global and African capital to bridge the continent's massive energy gap, which currently leaves around 600 million people without basic electricity. A centerpiece of the conversation is the critical role of private sector participation in electricity transmission, an area historically funded exclusively by governments. Ebobissé emphasizes that power generation is futile without the grid capacity to deliver electricity to end users and businesses, highlighting Africa50's work on the continent's first independent private transmission projects. Looking toward the next decade, he advocates for a balanced energy mix — including renewables and natural gas — and issues a call for a heightened sense of urgency among global institutions to prioritize results over perfection in order to close the energy gap at speed.

This week, we take you inside a Devex exclusive: the $60 million fiasco at the United Nations, a complex story with an equally complex set of characters, including Vitaly Vanshelboim, whose rise and fall left a black mark on a key U.N. agency. Once revered as a financial wizard, Vanshelboim was the man credited with pulling UNOPS back from the brink of bankruptcy. However, as our investigation reveals, behind the diplomatic prestige and profits lay a shadow world of secret side deals, luxury cars, and a $60 million trail of broken promises. Now, as the former U.N. assistant secretary-general faces a reckoning from a Spanish prison cell, we discuss the lingering question: For a system that prides itself on rigorous oversight, is this incident a one-off or emblematic of something deeper? To dig into this story and others, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Managing Editor Anna Gawel and Senior Global Reporter Colum Lynch for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Request an invitation to attend Devex Impact House @ WHA in Geneva: https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-wha-79.html

As AI models scale globally, social enterprises are increasingly working with frontier AI labs to test, adapt, and improve the technology in local contexts. This episode explores how those partnerships could determine whether AI reinforces existing inequalities — or helps close them.

In an internal memo seen by Devex, the Trump administration has threatened to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to the United Nations unless it adopts a slate of nine “quick win” reforms. We break down the demands and what they reveal about the United States' new road map for multilateral engagement. We also received a recent congressional notification which reveals that USAID has up to $19.2 billion to close out terminated foreign assistance awards. We explore what that funding would be spent on. To discuss these stories and others, Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth speaks with reporters Colum Lynch and Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. During the sponsored segment of the This Week in Global Development podcast, brought to you by The Fred Hollows Foundation, Devex Executive Vice President Kate Warren sits down with Dr. Caroline Casey, president of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, to discuss why restoring sight is not just a health intervention, but a critical lever for unlocking women's economic participation, reducing unpaid care burdens, and accelerating progress on gender equality. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters: https://www.devex.com/account/newsletters

This week, we are on the ground in Oxford for the Skoll World Forum, an annual international convening of social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and leaders across government and civil society. While the global development community faced significant headwinds from foreign aid cuts this time last year, the atmosphere at this year's forum remains optimistic and focused on resilient solutions. During the conversation, we explore why the forum remains a cornerstone for the global development community, as well as share what we are learning about how philanthropic organizations see their role evolve in the post-aid era. To discuss the latest news from the Skoll World Forum, Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar and Business Editor David Ainsworth for this edition of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters: https://www.devex.com/account/newsletters

In a special edition of the This Week in Development podcast, Devex Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Ambassador Keisha McGuire, chief global affairs officer at RestoringVision, to explore the profound economic ripple effects of addressing near-vision loss, or presbyopia. While often dismissed as a mere "annoyance," age-related vision loss is a significant barrier to global health and economic development. RestoringVision has coined the term "visionomics" to describe the vital intersection of vision, health, and the economy. For millions in low- to middle-income countries, the inability to see clearly can lead to a devastating economic impact on households, communities, and countries. The case for investing in vision is mathematically undeniable: For every $1 invested in vision services in these regions, there is a $28 return on investment. Despite this, eye health has historically lagged behind other global health priorities. However, the tide is turning with major new funding commitments and increased political mobilization leading up to the first-ever Global Summit for Eye Health in November 2026 in Antigua and Barbuda. By treating vision not just as a medical cost but as a catalytic investment, organizations can advance at least seven Sustainable Development Goals, proving that a simple pair of reading glasses can be one of the most cost-effective tools for reducing global poverty. Listen to this episode of This Week in Global Development to hear the whole discussion.

In this episode of Global Progress in the AI Era, a government minister and tech entrepreneur argue that the future of AI will be determined by thousands of small choices. Taking part in the conversation hosted by Devex Senior Editor for Special Coverage Catherine Cheney were Amini founder and CEO Kate Kallot, as well as Bosun Tijani, Nigeria's minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy.

Against the backdrop of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings, Devex reporters Adva Saldinger, Michael Igoe, and Ayenat Mersie dissect the stories they've been hearing on the ground this week. That includes the latest OECD figures showing a staggering 25% drop in official development assistance, the ripple effects of the conflict in the Middle East, and a newfound focus on rebuilding public consensus. The discussion also looks at the World Bank's bold new “sector-first” strategy, highlighted by the launch of Water Forward — an ambitious initiative aiming to provide one billion people with access to clean water through country-led compacts. The return of African trade corridors enters the discussion as well, along with the International Monetary Fund's scramble for concessional funding. To dig into these stories, listen to this episode of This Week in Global Development.