Long Story Short

As the world gets ready for a second Trump presidency, significant uncertainty surrounds the United Nations as the organization prepares to implement substantial funding cuts. With the new administration predicted to prioritize national security over humanitarian and human rights principles, China may seek to fill the void left by the United States. Faced with domestic economic pressures and competing priorities, European countries across the continent continued to make cuts to their aid budgets in 2024, including the European Commission. The trend is raising questions regarding the continent's commitment to addressing global challenges. How will Trump’s approach to the U.N. be different to that of Biden’s? Will European countries continue to cut their foreign aid funding in 2025? To discuss these questions, Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Tom Hart, the president and CEO of InterAction, as well as Devex Global Development Reporter Colum Lynch, for the latest episode of our weekly podc

This week’s podcast kicks off with a look at the legacy of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 on Sunday. Following his four-year presidency, Carter devoted four decades to humanitarian efforts, founding The Carter Center in 1982 to promote peace and improve global health. One of his most significant contributions was his campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease, which has now been eliminated in 17 countries. The team also delves into a new plan to establish an African-led response to the HIV epidemic, as well as a report from Publish What You Fund, which highlights gaps in donor nations’ localization targets. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

What does it take to transform an idea from one that serves hundreds to millions, if not billions? Sanjay Purohit has spent his career aiming to crack this code. As the CEO and Chief Curator of Centre for Exponential Change, Purohit knows firsthand that scaling social impact requires more than just good intentions—it demands a complete reimagining of how we approach societal change. Since 2016, he's been pioneering "Societal Thinking," an approach that's reached over 500 change leaders across 20 countries, tackling everything from climate action to gender equity. Think scale: A curation of ideas to help you—the first in his groundbreaking trilogy on social transformation—captures these battle-tested insights.

This week we delve into the key trends that have shaped the global development landscape. From the impact of declining aid budgets in high-income countries to Donald Trump’s reelection, we examine how these forces are influencing the sector and consider their implications for the year ahead. We also explore the potential of cash transfers to revolutionize the aid sector and challenge the traditional global financial architecture. In the United States, a landmark bill is poised to significantly expand the reach of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, potentially enabling the agency to operate in middle-income countries for the first time. To look back at 2024 and to dig into these stories, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Yolande Wright, vice president of partnerships at GiveDirectly, and Devex Senior Business Editor David Ainsworth for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

This week, we take a look at the Civil Society and Social Innovation Alliance, known as CIVIC, a new, forthcoming World Bank Group initiative designed to support civil society organizations and social economy players. This venture seeks to foster more collaboration in line with the bank’s localization agenda, enabling civil society to play a crucial role in addressing global challenges. On the topic of the World Bank, the financial institution announced $23.7 billion in contributions to the International Development Association, or IDA, the bank’s fund for providing grants and low-interest loans to 78 low-income countries. This is a 0.8% increase from the last replenishment of $23.5 billion in 2022 but falls short of the $27 billion that some advocates had hoped for. We also discuss the Lobito corridor, which will connect Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo via a rail that runs to the Lobito port in Angola. With many seeing it as a key initiative in the U.S.' efforts to counter China's grow

As key appointments in the Trump administration come into focus, what will they mean for U.S. foreign aid? With high-profile picks such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary and Marco Rubio for secretary of state in the spotlight, all eyes in the development community are on Trump’s yet-to-be-announced choice to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development — a decision poised to shape the future of U.S. global engagement. In this episode of our weekly podcast series, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar is joined by Devex Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger and Nasra Ismail, U.S. enterprise executive director at Alight, to discuss the wide range of possibilities under a Trump presidency. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters: https://www.devex.com/account/newsletters

This week we reflect on the United Nations COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, which wrapped up over the weekend. We take a closer look at the outcomes, analyzing nations’ commitment to a new $300 billion annual global climate finance target and exploring whether it’s sufficient to support the needs of the lower-income countries most impacted by climate change. While some steps have been taken to assist these states, significant doubts remain about the sufficiency of what nations agreed at COP29. Is the global community truly committed to addressing the climate crisis? Did COP29 deliver? What will be the next step in the climate negotiations? For the latest episode of our weekly podcast series, Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Clare Shakya, global managing director of climate at The Nature Conservancy, and Climate Reporter Jesse Chase-Lubitz, to look back at COP 29. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters: https://www.devex.com/account/newsletters

As COP29 comes to a close, we take a look at what negotiators are still racing to resolve in the final hours of the ambitious two-week conference. From building carbon markets to establishing private sector partnerships to meet the funding gap, we also contemplate whether the discussions will lead to meaningful action and address the issues posed by climate change. This week, we were also on the ground in Brazil, closely following the conversations taking place at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. We dive into some of the global development issues on the agenda during the discussions, including slashing world hunger, reforming multilateral development banks, and taxing the superrich. To look back at these two crucial events on the global development calendar, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with James Mwangi, founder and CEO of Africa Climate Ventures, as well as Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex New

For this special episode of our weekly podcast series, Devex EVP and Executive Editor Kate Warren sits down with leaders from Bayer and Mars who discuss the challenges and opportunities for the private sector in addressing climate change. 

Leaders push for climate adaptation funding in the face of escalating risks by Devex

Agriculture is both a driver of climate change, with around 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from direct on farm emissions, and a potential game changer in mitigating it, if carried out sustainably. Yet currently agriculture receives only 4.3% of total mitigation and adaptation finance, making it an underutilized part of the solution to climate change. “Maybe an important conversation to have in Baku is to say, of the finances that we have available, are we all focussing on the sectors where we can see true, tangible, and implementable solutions,” said CropLife International’s Vice President for public affairs and communications Laurie Goodwin, the global association that advocates on behalf of plant science innovation. In a conversation with Devex Executive Vice President and Executive Editor Kate Warren, Goodwin and CropLife International’s President and CEO Emily Rees discussed advancements in plant science and the role of innovation, such as the use of digital tools — otherwise known as pre

As the COP 29 U.N. climate conference kicks off in Baku, Azerbaijan, we look ahead to the potential implications of the discussions on the global development sector. Labeled as the “finance COP,” one of the expected outcomes of the summit is a new financial goal for high-income countries to deliver to lower-income countries to address the challenges induced by climate change. With Trump’s recent reelection and implications for development, as well as Europe’s ongoing cuts to development funding, serious questions remain over whether ambitious financial and political commitments will be made, and if the discussions will translate into meaningful action. What are we expecting from COP29? Which are the conversations that we will be following?Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Devex reporters Jesse Chase-Lubitz and Ayenat Mersie for this special episode of our weekly podcast series ahead of COP 29. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

While the African continent has seen significant economic growth in recent years, it continues to grapple with critical infrastructure challenges that hamper business expansion, service delivery, trade, investment, as well as sustainable development.  In the latest episode of This Week in Global Development, Devex Executive Vice President Kate Warren speaks with Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, during the 2024 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C. Since its launch seven years ago, Africa50 has emerged as a key player in bridging the infrastructure gap across the continent, focusing on project development to create a pipeline of bankable projects. Listen to the podcast episode for the full interview, where Warren and Ebobissé discuss the future of infrastructure in Africa, the importance of climate being built into infrastructure projects, and innovative strategies being employed to create lasting impact across the continent.

This week, former President Donald Trump was elected for a second term at the White House. His reelection marks a radical shift in U.S. foreign policy priorities for a sweeping range of issues, not least abortion, climate, global health, and LGBTQI rights. The global development community is closely watching how things are unfolding in Washington, D.C. Major reforms to the international financial system are expected, as well as cuts in funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations. How will Trump approach foreign policy? Will China capitalize on the U.S.’s withdrawal from the international scene? What does the result mean for international climate finance? To dig into these questions and discuss what the outcome of the U.S. elections means for global development, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with reporters Colum Lynch and Adva Saldinger for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters

This week we discuss the key takeaways from Devex World 2024, our flagship event that took place in Washington, D.C., alongside the World Bank-International Monetary Fund annual meetings. From discussions with philanthropist Howard Buffett, who called for increased aid to Ukraine, to a conversation with former executive director of the World Food Programme David Beasley, who believes the U.S. can once again lead on foreign aid, the event brought together key figures in global development. We also sat down with Republicans and Democrats to dig into what the U.S. election means for global development and discuss the direction that a Kamala Harris presidency or a Donald Trump presidency would take U.S. foreign policy. For the latest edition of our weekly podcast series, Devex Managing Editor Anna Gawel sits down with Business Editor David Ainsworth and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene to look back at the highlights from Devex World 2024. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

With the World Bank-International Monetary Fund annual meetings wrapped up, all eyes are now turning to the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP29, to be held next month in Baku, Azerbaijan. So how do multilateral development banks stack up? Are their policies and programs enough to address climate shocks? Can and should they take on more risk? And is the money that MDBs have promised actually getting to where it needs to go? To explore these questions and more, Devex Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger speaks to Pepukaye Bardouille, director of the Bridgetown Initiative and special adviser on climate change to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley; and Warren Evans, who has a long history of working on climate issues at multilateral development banks.

On Thursday, Devex hosted its biannual Devex World summit in Washington, D.C. Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar was on hand to interview global development heavy hitters on stage — and also sat down with Climate Investment Funds CEO Tariye Gbadegesin. CIF, founded in 2008, is a $12 billion multilateral climate finance fund. While all brains were focused on the World Bank annual meetings, they looked ahead to the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. “One of the key objectives of the Baku COP is to deliver a [new collective quantified goal, or NCQG], which are basically national quantified goals for how we're going to deliver on climate finance,” Gbadegesin said. “The reality is that there are going to be challenges with raising these large sums of money because budgets are stretched for multiple reasons. Some of it is political, some of it is economic, some of it is security challenges.” The implications for climate funding, she said, are that every dolla

The World Bank Group released its new Gender Strategy earlier this year with three key aims: ending gender-based violence, expanding economic opportunities, and engaging more women as leaders. But how will the bank achieve these lofty aims? Devex Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with the bank’s Global Director for Gender Hana Brixi for our latest podcast to learn about how this new plan will be implemented and what exactly is changing. “The World Bank Group is at a very historic moment at the time. It is the first time ever to have a strategy for the World Bank Group to engage with such a strong ambition, and also a commitment to engage differently for better gender equality and really to accelerate progress,” Brixi tells Adva. The “full engagement of women” is key to ending poverty, and without ending gender-based violence that will be impossible, she adds. It’s less about new programs or specific new funding but integrating stronger emphasis on gender throughout everything the World Bank does. I

This is the first of a series of three special episodes of This Week in Global Development tied to the World Bank-International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington, D.C. Devex senior reporter Adva Saldinger speaks to Lord Mark Malloch Brown, who's co-leading an initiative aimed at assessing and providing recommendations for these Bretton Woods institutions, and Gates Foundation's president of global advocacy, Gargee Ghosh, about the challenges facing the IDA replenishment in December.

As we look ahead to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund annual meetings, we discuss what to expect from the summit, including whether the decisions made will have a meaningful impact and help overcome some of the biggest challenges in global development. With the looming U.S. elections just around the corner, we consider the potential implications for the World Bank's strategy and the influence the vote may exert on this year’s annual meetings. While the rhetoric around this summit is based on the idea of “getting things done,” we contemplate how the global political landscape will influence outcomes. What next for the International Development Association replenishment? What will be the big announcements? To discuss these questions and look ahead to the event, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Senior Reporters Adva Saldinger and Michael Igoe for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters: https://ww