Devex Podcasts

This week we were closely following the lawsuits filed against the Trump administration for freezing U.S. foreign assistance. One of the lawsuits targets Elon Musk, stating that the billionaire has decimated the U.S. Agency for International Development without the authority to do so. However, the government appears to be determined to fight back against those who are ready to challenge its decisions.

We also look back at the Munich Security Conference, where we were media partners. From conversations on food security to the attendance of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, we discuss the key takeaways from the event.

For the latest episode of our podcast series, Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar, and Devex Managing Editor Anna Gawel, to dig into these stories and more.

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This week we were closely tracking the legal battles surrounding USAID's closure, with lawsuits filed by both former contractors and NGO partners as the fallout from the agency's shutdown continues to reverberate across the global development community.

USAID is not the only institution in the sector being affected by the new U.S. administration. We also reported that the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration has edited out any references to sexual reproductive rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion in an apparent effort to prevent the Trump administration from making severe budget cuts to their programs.

What will be the outcome of the lawsuits? How will other U.N. agencies react to Trump’s presidency?

For the latest episode of our podcast series, Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Anna Gawel and Colum Lynch to break down these stories, and others.

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This week our entire newsroom has been on the story of how the Trump administration has dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The administrative leave of much of USAID's workforce, including senior executives and almost all international staff, coupled with the layoff of thousands of contractors, has cast a long shadow over the future of U.S. foreign aid as we know it and raised concerns across the development sector about the continuity of critical programs.

On Feb. 5, our team was on the ground as thousands rallied outside the U.S. Capitol, protesting the gutting of USAID.

What will happen next?

To make sense of the situation, Devex Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Devex Reporters Sara Jerving and Elissa Miolene for the latest edition of our weekly podcast series.

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Ville Tavio, Finland’s minister for foreign trade and development and a member of the right-wing Finns Party, which he described as "somewhat like a Finland First party,” addressed misconceptions about conservative hostility toward international development during a special episode of This Week in Global Development from Davos, Switzerland.

Widespread confusion and uncertainty continue to ripple through the development sector following the U.S. government’s stop-work order on foreign aid programs. The directive has already resulted in mass layoffs this week, particularly among contractors and implementing partners reliant on USAID funding, while nearly 60 senior USAID officials have been placed on administrative leave.

The U.S. State Department issued a waiver Wednesday for “life-saving humanitarian assistance,” but ambiguity remains over which programs qualify. It is still unclear what this specifically applies to and whether it includes initiatives such as PEPFAR, which provides lifesaving antiretrovirals for millions of people living with HIV/AIDS.

In this episode of the This week in global development podcast, Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth is joined by Devex Senior Reporters Adva Saldinger and Sara Jerving for the latest updates on this rapidly evolving situation and to discuss what the long-term implications for U.S. foreign aid infrastructure could be.

Sania Nishtar, the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, sees the organization’s new five-year strategy, dubbed “Gavi 6.0,” as an opportunity for a reset. She provided Devex with an exclusive preview.

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This Week in Global Dev: #81: What does Trump's first week in office mean for global development? by Devex

On a special special episode of This Week in Global Development, Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, warned of major consequences for people with HIV if U.S. under President Trump cuts funding to programs such as PEPFAR and the Global Fund.

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Migration is surging worldwide — as is the backlash to it. Perhaps nowhere is this backlash more evident at the moment than in the United States, where newly minted President Donald Trump has said he will deport all of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country.

Amy Pope doesn’t think that is practical, or productive.

Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, which falls under the United Nations, told Devex that such a mass deportation would have a range of repercussions, assuming it’s even feasible.

“In the United States where you’re talking over 11 million people who’ve been living and working there, frankly — and I know this because I worked at a time when more than 400,000 people were removed in a year under President Obama — the system cannot bear removing 11 million people. The logistical capacity does not exist,” she told Devex Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar during a special episode of the This Week in Global Development podcast from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

While the logistical capacity may not exist, the economic toll certainly does, Pope said.

“It is clear that American industry has been relying on migrants — high-skilled, low-skilled, irregular, regular — across the board. So if you start to pull out that workforce, if you do not have another workforce ready to go in, you’re going to see the impact across the board,” she said, citing industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and food processing.

Moreover, irregular migration strengthens smugglers and traffickers while weakening trust in governments.

“It undermines confidence in government. Because if the government cannot manage its border and if there’s a perception that everybody can come to the border and cross and you don’t have to wait in a line … it undermines public confidence,” she said.

Rather, governments need to set up a system where migration is legal and orderly.

“If you’ve been living in a country, if you have been holding a job, paying your taxes, not committing crimes, kids are in school, whatever … you offer people a way to regularize their status,” she said. “Let’s give them status — make sure they’re paid fairly, make sure that their entry into the workforce is being done in a regular way.”

To hear more of Pope’s thoughts — including why people migrate and what aid agencies can do in a time of ever-tightening budgets — check out the podcast.

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Special Olympics' Chief of Global Youth & Education, Jackie Jodl, joins Raj Kumar for a podcast episode looking at how sports and education can drive societal change, the state of social inclusion for people with intellectual and learning disabilities, and the opportunities and risks presented by AI.

This episode is sponsored by Special Olympics.