This Week in Global Development

By Devex | Global DevelopmentNews

This Week in Global Development episodes

April 11, 2024 Israel's attempt to dismantle UNRWA, and USAID's localization spending
As the war in Gaza stretches past the six-month mark, this week we had an exclusive story on Israel’s efforts to disrupt and dismantle UNRWA, the United Nations agency leading the humanitarian response for Palestinians. The agency — caught in a political war — was forced to ground its fleet of trucks, cars, and security specialists used by other U.N. agencies delivering support to those affected by the conflict.

We have also been closely following the conversations around localization. A few months ago, a rural Sierra Leone-based nonprofit leader was unable to get a visa to a conference in Denmark — which led to an open letter demanding change in how convening spaces on locally led development should be organized. Four months later, it appears that some foundations, international organizations, and networks have committed to listening, including the U.S. Agency for International Development. We explore how localization can be more effectively carried out, including the need to move the headquarters of institutions closer to the communities they aim to serve, as well as having greater representation from the developing world in academia.

Also on the topic of localization, we dug into the analysis of how much of USAID’s money went to local grantees in 2023. We found that the agency allocated around $1.3 billion to local partners via grants and cooperative agreements in 2023, which is the same amount as the previous fiscal year.

To discuss these stories, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Aude Darnal of the Stimson Center and Devex’s U.N. correspondent Colum Lynch for this week’s episode of the podcast series.

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37 min
April 04, 2024 USAID's spending plan and reforming the Inter-American Development Bank
Last week, we launched Roots of Change, a Devex series on locally led development, which explores how the localization agenda can be elevated from rhetoric to reality. We have been following the discussions around localization for the past couple of years and the progress made toward empowering local communities in shaping global development initiatives. As part of the series, we published an article that outlines five key takeaways we learned about the current state of the debate based on our coverage. We highlight that while progress is slow, change is inevitable.

At the Inter-American Development Bank, major developments are underway. From changing how they operate to identifying new metrics of success, we dig into how the financial institution plans to become a better partner in development as it urges other MDBs to undergo reform as well.

We also touch upon an interactive article we published on the U.S. Agency for International Development’s spending plan for the upcoming months. Find out how the agency is planning to distribute $25.6 billion, including the sectors and countries targeted.

In the latest episode of the This Week in Global Development podcast, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Nasra Ismail, U.S. enterprise executive director at Alight, and Devex Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger to discuss the global development stories above.

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32 min
March 28, 2024 A new localization legislation, and the 'severe' risk to UK aid
This week, we reported that at the Employees at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems — a 37-year-old pro-democracy organization based outside Washington, D.C. — employees formed a new staff union to confront their organization’s president and CEO over labor rights. The issue is entangled within the wider debates of localization. While employees most certainly want to provide technical support to local partners, they do not believe that the process should undervalue the employees who provide it.

At the end of last week, The Locally Led Development and Humanitarian Response Act was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, legislation that would ease complexities in USAID's grantmaking process. While the bill still needs to clear the U.S. Senate, most seem hopeful it will do so. It is believed that the legislation would help USAID reach its localization targets, especially if it is passed before the U.S. general election in November.

On the other side of the pond, a spending watchdog found that the creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has undermined the United Kingdom’s ability to carry out aid work. The report also raises the alarm that "staff have experienced change fatigue and are unhappy that key issues such as terms and conditions and career pathways have yet to be resolved.”

To dig into these stories, and others, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with George Ingram and Fiona Zublin for the latest episode of the podcast series.

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35 min
March 22, 2024 Is it business as usual as USAID issues its latest $5 billion contract?
Last week, USAID unveiled its latest $5 billion global health supply contract, part of its NextGen suite of contracts. Worth $17 billion in total, it’s the largest suite of foreign aid contracts ever issued, to be delivered over the course of 10 years. But despite all the talk around localization, it’s highly likely the contracts will end up going to the usual industry players.

“Most of the low- or middle-income countries, they can do without those USAID-funded contractors coming to do things for them,” said Olusoji Adeyi, president of Resilient Health Systems and a staunch advocate for the decolonization of the sector.

The previous iteration of USAID’s global health supply contract, worth $9.5 billion and delivered solely through Chemonics, failed to live up to expectations after running into multiple delays and performance problems. “USAID has refused to learn, and they are throwing $17 billion of taxpayer money after a failed business model,” said Adeyi.

Listen to the latest episode of This Week in Global Development to hear Adeyi discuss this topic and the other big stories from the week with Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar and Managing Editor Anna Gawel.
40 min
March 21, 2024 Devex @ SXSW: These doctors turned entrepreneurs are using tech to transform health
Vitala Global Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works with girls and women to develop digital solutions for stigmatized sexual and reproductive health issues, including abortions.
Last week, Aya Contigo, its digital companion for abortion and contraception support that launched in Venezuela and has since expanded to the United States, was a winner of South by Southwest’s Innovation Showcase.

Dr. Roopan Gill, co-founder and CEO of Vitala Global Foundation, was in Austin, Texas, to talk about the role technology can play in providing more accessible reproductive health resources, especially amidst growing restrictions on reproductive rights.

“It's not just an app providing passive information,” she said. “We're really trying to see how it acts as a glue, as an ecosystem integrator, especially in this day and age where we have so much complexity around abortion access.”

Gill spoke with Devex for Devex @ SXSW, a special edition of our This Week in Global Development podcast.

The episode also featured Jarone Lee, co-founder of Health Tech Without Borders, a nonprofit organization working on digital health solutions, including telemedicine and chatbots, in the context of humanitarian disasters.

Listen to the podcast to hear how these two doctors turned social entrepreneurs are leveraging technology to improve health care access in some of the most challenging settings to deliver care.

26 min
March 19, 2024 Devex @ SXSW: Technology's role in the future of food systems
There’s no question that artificial intelligence will have a massive impact on the future of food systems, but it remains to be seen whether it will address or perpetuate inequities.

“I think the question is, how's it going to be used in our food system in a way that actually promotes all of the objectives that we want?” said Roy Steiner, senior vice president for the Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation. “Technology tends to be a fairly neutral tool. It multiplies whatever is underneath it. So if we have a completely inequitable system, it will multiply the inequity.”

Steiner spoke with Devex on the sidelines of South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, where conversations focused on the ways technology will transform every aspect of society, including the way the world grows, produces, distributes, supplies, and consumes food.
The current food system is detrimental environmentally, socially, and nutritionally, Steiner said, adding that he’s hopeful that technological advancements can help the world transition to a more regenerative and equitable system.

Listen to the episode to hear more about the future of food systems on Devex @ SXSW, a special edition of our This Week in Global Development podcast.

The podcast also features Paul Newnham, executive director of the SDG2 Advocacy Hub, which coordinates global advocacy in support of food system transformation, and Joke Aerts, open chain lead at Tony’s Chocolonely, a company on a mission to end modern slavery and illegal child labor in cocoa.
41 min
March 19, 2024 Devex @ SXSW: How 3 organizations are leveraging technology for a more equitable future
The world needs new approaches, not just more funding, as it faces a financing gap of an estimated $4 trillion annually to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.

“We’re either going to find this money somewhere under the cushions … or we’re going to make it cheaper,” said Hala Hanna, executive director of Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that launches open calls and backs innovators working to solve global problems. “So we really believe that innovation and finding new voices and new ideas is one key part of doing that.”

Devex spoke with Hanna at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. She drew on some of the same themes as Najada Kumbuli, head of investments at the Visa Foundation, and Nazanin Ash, CEO of Welcome.US.

Each of them discussed the ways their organizations leverage innovation, technology, and investment to support new solutions for the SDGs that won’t come from traditional models.
Listen to the episode to hear more on their strategies to build a more equitable future on Devex @SXSW, a special edition of our This Week in Global Development podcast.
39 min
March 14, 2024 Devex @ SXSW: How Emerson Collective prioritizes causes and partners
It’s no surprise that Anne Marie Burgoyne, managing director of Emerson Collective, had a long line of people forming to meet with her following her session at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas Wednesday. Burgoyne leads philanthropy for this social change organization started by Laurene Powell Jobs.

Devex's Kate Warren spoke with Burgoyne about Emerson Collective’s unique approach, its growing work on climate through the Waverley Street Foundation, and how Emerson Collective looks at the role of artificial intelligence in social change.

Listen to the episode to hear more from Burgoyne on Devex @ SXSW, a special edition of our This Week in Global Development podcast.
27 min
March 14, 2024 Innovation at SXSW and food as a weapon of war
On this week's episode, we go behind the scenes at SXSW with Devex Executive Editor Kate Warren, who brings us the latest on the innovations in food and agriculture being discussed at the wide-ranging conference and festival.

We've also got Food Systems for the Future's Ertharin Cousin, who weighed in on our recent piece on the weaponizaton of food, accusations that USAID meddled in Zimbabwe's democratic process, and the utlity of the Pandemic Fund.

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37 min
March 12, 2024 Devex @ SXSW: Comfort Ero on the world's conflicts, and the trends driving them
Next year marks 30 years since the start of the International Crisis Group, which conducts research and analysis to prevent and resolve global conflict.

Comfort Ero, president and CEO of Crisis Group, says the organization was “made for this moment,” as crises continue to unfold from Gaza to Haiti to Ukraine.

She spoke with Devex on the sidelines of South by Southwest, an annual conference in Austin, Texas, about America's role in the world, ahead of a high stakes U.S. presidential election, as well as the war in Gaza, and how the climate crisis and the rise of AI are shaping the future of conflict.

“Our job is to find the political will, and to create ideas beyond the headlines, to get away from the noise, and to quietly try to thread the needle in a very complex and very dangerous world,” Ero said.

Listen to the episode to hear more from Ero on Devex @ SXSW, a special edition of This Week in Global Development.
32 min

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Dive into the week's most critical global development news with the This Week in Global Development podcast.

In each episode, hosts Adva Saldinger, David Ainsworth, and Rumbi Chakamba…