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.

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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.

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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.

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