This Week in Global Development

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  The Gates Foundation's latest AI pledge, and a look ahead to UNGA 81 17.09.2026 38dk

  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.
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  Special edition: The real funding gap isn't money 15.09.2026 32dk

  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.
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  Bypassing the traditional aid system: The big bet to end starvation 10.09.2026 35dk

  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.
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  The fight over $7.5B in expiring aid and a rejected State Department grant 03.09.2026 26dk

  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/
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  The water sector’s funding challenge and Asia’s philanthropy push 27.08.2026 30dk

  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
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  Special edition: Rethinking the housing crisis 25.08.2026 27dk

  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.
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  Famine reporting goes dark in 3 crisis zones, and COP31’s critical test 20.08.2026 28dk

  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
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  Inside the State Department’s historic pivot to faith-based organizations 13.08.2026 29dk

  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.
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  Special edition: Are jobs for youth development's silver bullet? 12.08.2026 41dk

  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.
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  Tracking the real-world impacts of US foreign aid cuts 29.07.2026 36dk

  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
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  The new era of US and European foreign assistance 22.07.2026 30dk

  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
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  Turning World Cup hype into impact, and governing AI for good 16.07.2026 32dk

  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.
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  Uncertainty over UNAIDS’ future and avoiding sexual abuse in Ebola response 09.07.2026 33dk

  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
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  US aid leadership changes and a controversial UN merger 02.07.2026 34dk

  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
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  Special edition: Live from Hamburg: Can governments still invest in the future? 01.07.2026 1sa 8dk

  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.
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  Special edition: The blueprint for better lung cancer screening 30.06.2026 30dk

  In this special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, produced in partnership with the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, Devex co-founder and Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with three architects of Kentucky’s transformation in fighting high lung cancer rates: Dr. Jamie Studts, Dr. Jennifer Redmond Knight, and Dr. Timothy Mullett — the team behind the Kentucky LEADS Collaborative and the QUILS™ system.After a decade of data, the results are clear: earlier diagnoses are being seen in Kentucky, and current efforts are seeking a similar impact in Mississippi and Nevada. But the real story is how these results were achieved. Rather than imposing top-down protocols, QUILS™ works by equipping local community programs with data-informed tools, continuous feedback, and practice support — helping local clinics serve as trusted access points for lung cancer screening in their communities.The conversation tackles the hardest part of scaling any screening program: human behavior. Lung cancer carries a unique stigma rooted in decades of anti-smoking messaging, and that stigma remains a powerful barrier, discouraging eligible patients from coming forward. The QUILS™ response is to replace shame and fear with empathy and hope, building person-centered care directly into clinical workflows so the burden does not fall on patients alone.For global health leaders, the implications are clear: The barriers Kentucky faced — rural isolation, underresourced systems, cultural mistrust — are not unique to one region. They exist everywhere. And the infrastructure built to overcome them may be exactly what the world needs.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
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  Live from London Climate Action Week 25.06.2026 29dk

  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. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters:https://www.devex.com/account/newsletters
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  Fact-checking US aid claims as the State Department continues to hire 18.06.2026 29dk

  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
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  Development banks pivot strategies as global volatility deepens 11.06.2026 30dk

  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
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  The latest on the Ebola outbreak response 04.06.2026 29dk

  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