Trump's USAID abolition plan: What does it mean for global development?

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.Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

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. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

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. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters: https://www.devex.com/account/newsletters Chapters00:00 Introduction to Global Development Headlines00:58 USAID Program Terminations and Confusion09:06 Congressional Role and Future of Foreign Aid12:24 PEPFAR and Bipartisan Support 16:57 European Foreign Aid Dynamics25:20 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. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

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.Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

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. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters. 

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. Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters. 

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.Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.