Episódios
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With the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in full swing, we are recording live from the conference. From the United States’ approach to the institutions to how to create more jobs in the global workforce, we take a look at the key discussion points at the summit.
On the topic of the U.S., we chew over the possibility that the uncertainty surrounding potential tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration may be more damaging than the tariffs themselves, drying up liquidity and forcing painful choices on indebted nations.
During the conversation, we also get into our scoop on the Department of Government Efficiency’s targeting of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. In the coming weeks, the agency is expected to face a reduction in both staff and programming.
To explore these stories, Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with reporters Adva Saldinger and Jesse Chase-Lubitz, who are covering the Spring Meetings this week, for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.
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This week we published a story in which we spoke with 14 former and current World Central Kitchen staff members and contractors to find out what lay behind the deaths of seven of the nonprofit’s staff members in Gaza. The interviewees described a workplace plagued by risk, inadequate training, and a “build-the-plane-while-flying-it” mentality.
With the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund coming up next week, we discuss what the gathering will mean for the global development sector. It’s the first World Bank meeting since U.S. President Donald Trump’s election in January, and all eyes will be on how the United States will approach the talks and its relationship with the institution.
We also take a look at the key takeaways from our event with U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Arkansas and chair of the House Financial Services Committee, who argued that the World Bank is disproportionately focused on climate change and it needs to be pushed “back on course.”
To unpack what happened to the World Central Kitchen staffers in Gaza and to look ahead to the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings, Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with reporters Adva Saldinger and Elissa Miolene, as well as Clemence Landers, vice president and senior policy fellow at the Center For Global Development.
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Around 5 billion people — about two-thirds of the world’s population — globally lack access to safe, affordable surgical care.
Despite carrying 25% of the global surgical disease burden, Africa is served by just 2% of the world’s surgical workforce. The reasons for this disparity are complex — from underresourced medical education systems to the migration of trained professionals seeking better pay and working conditions abroad.
In this podcast episode, Operation Smile’s chief medical officer, Dr. Billy Magee, and University of Rwanda’s Professor Faustin Ntirenganya join Devex’s Kate Warren to discuss some of the strategies that have emerged as the most promising for enhancing surgical care access, and learnings from Operation Smile in Rwanda. They also discuss progress made at the inaugural Pan-African Surgical Conference, which took place in late February in Kigali, and was organized by Operation Smile in partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of Health, Rwanda Surgical Society, and the University of Rwanda.
This episode is sponsored by Operation Smile. -
Confusion surrounding U.S. foreign assistance deepened this week as USAID reversed several program terminations—including life-saving food aid—just days after announcing them. The World Food Programme called the initial cuts a “death sentence for millions,” and organizations are now raising questions about data accuracy and decision-making inside the administration.
We also look at how European governments are quietly debating whether to fill the gaps left by U.S. cuts, and what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent podcast appearance reveals about the administration’s shifting aid priorities.
To unpack these developments, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger is joined by Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene and Business Editor David Ainsworth for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Global Development Headlines
00:58 USAID Program Terminations and Confusion
09:06 Congressional Role and Future of Foreign Aid
12:24 PEPFAR and Bipartisan Support
16:57 European Foreign Aid Dynamics
25:20 Marco Rubio's Perspective on Foreign Aid -
The Trump administration formally informed Congress of its proposal to abolish USAID, merging key aspects of its operations into the State Department. This plan involves the complete shutdown of the agency and subsequent staff layoffs. Despite this, the U.S. government intends to preserve vital programs concerning humanitarian assistance, food security, and global health, potentially leading to the rehiring of some former USAID employees under the State Department.
This week we are also in Oxford, United Kingdom, at Skoll World Forum — the annual gathering for social entrepreneurs. We take a look at the key takeaways from the conference, where leaders from some of the world’s biggest foundations are calling philanthropists to step up and do more to help the nonprofit sector.
To explore these stories, Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Managing Editor Anna Gawel and Business Editor David Ainsworth for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.
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This week, the Trump administration released a detailed inventory of 5,341 discontinued USAID programs, alongside the 898 projects that are still active. We dig into the ins and outs of the data to assess the true scope of the government's policy changes, as well as reveal which programs have been most affected.
During the conversation, we also discussed how the Trump administration’s foreign policy is affecting U.N. agencies and their funding.
On the topic of the United Nations, the U.N. Arab Group, which represents the U.N.’s 22 Arab countries, has formally nominated Palestinian diplomat Riyad Mansour for the U.N. General Assembly presidency, setting the stage for a clash with the U.S. and Israel.
For the latest podcast episode, Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger and Senior Global Reporter Colum Lynch to discuss these stories and others.
NOTE ON THIS EPISODE: This podcast was recorded before the White House withdrew Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. U.S. President Donald Trump posted on the social media platform Truth Social Thursday that he has asked her to step aside so Republicans could keep the majority in the House of Representatives and not risk giving up her seat.
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In this special episode of This Week in Global Development, Devex dives deeper into how climate change is driving increased gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work and the cutting-edge research that’s not only mapping its impacts but also improving our understanding of potential solutions.
Hear directly from Kathy Baughman McLeod, the founder and CEO of Climate Resilience for All, a global NGO dedicated to strengthening women's health and livelihoods in the face of climate-driven extreme heat, and Shikha Silliman Bhattacharjee, the head of research, policy, and innovation at human and labor rights organization Equidem, as they discuss how their research is helping to fill an increasingly urgent gap. In conversation with Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar, they also discuss how research can help document climate-driven GBVH in the world of work in a way that centers the lived experience of women workers.
This episode is sponsored by Funders Organized for Right in the Global Economy (FORGE).
Visit Women Rising — a new narrative series spotlighting the intersection of gender-based violence and harassment and climate change in the world of work. -
This week we dig into the different proposals on how the Trump administration could reform foreign assistance. According to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s post on the social media platform X, 1,000 programs will be retained, with plans to potentially fold USAID into the State Department.
We also learned that Peter Marocco, who acted as deputy administrator of USAID for 6 weeks, has officially left USAID but remains at the State Department. However, given that the two government bodies may be interlinked in the not-so-distant future, he may still play a role in the shaping of U.S. foreign aid.
With programs being canceled, reinstated, and canceled again, a great deal of uncertainty remains on what programs will be kept at the end of the process.
The Department of Government Efficiency has also taken over the U.S. Institute of Peace, which appears to be the first nonprofit Elon Musk’s agency attempted to breach.
What will become of USAID? Which foreign aid programs will be kept?
To unpack these stories, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.
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This week a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay USAID partners for billions of dollars in foreign aid work completed before Feb. 13. The ruling also stated that the president does not have “unbounded power” in the realm of foreign affairs. This means that the U.S. government must spend the money that’s already been appropriated by Congress. We discuss whether this ruling will hold and what it will mean for U.S. foreign assistance.
We also analyze the potential effects of evolving U.S. foreign aid policies on the World Food Programme's fight against global hunger and contemplate whether philanthropy will fill the gap left by governments.
To dig into these stories, and others, Devex’s David Ainsworth sits down with Anna Gawel and Ayenat Mersie for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.
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This week the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to not pay billions of dollars in foreign aid to USAID and State Department partners — lifting a temporary reprieve granted by Chief Justice John Roberts.
On the topic of USAID, the U.S. African Development Foundation mounted a direct challenge to the Trump administration. Wednesday saw USADF staff physically prevent Department of Government Efficiency officials from entering their offices.
Across the pond, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the shifting of billions in aid spending to fund a larger military. This means that the U.K.’s aid budget will be cut to just 0.3% of gross national income by 2027, despite a manifesto promise to increase this figure from 0.5% back to 0.7%.
To explore these stories and others, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Deputy Managing Editor Fiona Zublin and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.
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This week we closely followed the latest developments on the U.S. government’s attempt at dismantling USAID.
We learned that the Trump administration has decided to cut 1,600 USAID personnel based in the United States, while also placing nearly all direct hires worldwide on administrative leave by midnight Sunday.
Simultaneously, the Trump administration terminated nearly 10,000 foreign aid awards under USAID and the U.S. State Department, including those delivering critical humanitarian aid.
And following a contentious legal battle in the lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court paused a judge’s order forcing the government to pay $2 billion in frozen foreign aid, giving the Trump administration a temporary reprieve from the directive issued by a U.S. District Court.
What’s next for USAID and U.S. foreign assistance?
To take a look at the situation, Devex Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Senior Reporter Sara Jerving and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.
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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 recorded in Davos, Switzerland.
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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.
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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. -
In his first week in office, U.S. President Donald Trump has implemented several executive orders, including a 90-day freeze on U.S. foreign assistance funding. The executive order states that the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests” and the Trump administration plans to review aid programs to decide what should stay and what should go.
Trump also ordered the nation’s exit from the World Health Organization, citing the agency’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises as one of the main reasons for his decision.
Reporting live from Davos this week, this week’s episode of This week in global development podcast also brings you reactions to the start of Trump’s second term from the World Economic Forum annual meeting.
Devex Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba sits down with Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar and Global Development Reporter Elissa Miolene to discuss Trump’s presidency and provide an update from the WEF annual meeting in Davos.
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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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