Devex Podcasts

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 globa...

This week we discuss Jeremy Lewin’s departure from the U.S. State Department’s foreign aid bureau to the White House. His transition to the National Security Council ends a controversial leadership marked by the retreat of the U.S. from its long-held role as the world’s leading bilateral donor. He is expected to be replaced by Andrew Veprek, who has pushed immigration and refugee restrictions at t...

This special two-part edition of This Week in Global Development comes to you from the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, where leaders from across development, government, business and civil society gather to debate the big questions facing the global economy — from climate and debt to security, trade, and the future of international cooperation. In part one, Devex Global Development Reporter Aye...

In a special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, Devex cofounder and Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Brazilian thoracic surgeon Dr. Ricardo Sales do Santos to discuss a revolutionary approach to tackling lung cancer in medically underserved communities in Brazil. As the most lethal form of cancer globally, lung cancer often goes undetected until its final s...

Rachel Kyte has spent decades shaping global climate change policy — from the World Bank to the United Nations to the United Kingdom. More than a decade since the signing of the Paris climate agreement, Kyte — the U.K. special representative for climate — is both inspired by how much has been done to tackle the climate crisis, and clear-eyed about the fact that it is not enough. "It's joyful, ting...

As London Climate Action Week gets into full swing, we break down the key talking points from the conference so far. With the city in the midst of a scorching heat wave, the discussion of climate change feels even more urgent than usual. We explore the transactional landscape that developing nations face, where much-needed capital is increasingly tied to the private sector. Beyond the balance shee...

Development economist William Easterly famously does not mince words about the disappointments of anti-poverty megaprojects and far-fetched foreign aid plans. For much of his career, Easterly has taken aim at experts who export their visions onto other people’s countries and communities — drawing from his own experience as one of those very experts. In his latest book, “Violent Saviors: The West’s...

In our landmark 150th episode, we discuss a common theme in global development over the past 18 months: the state of U.S. foreign aid. We’re seeing the State Department steadily replenish its workforce, with dozens of open roles across the agency’s global health, international aid, and disaster response bureaus. On the topic of U.S. foreign assistance, last week Secretary of State Marco Rubio clai...

U.S. foreign aid is undergoing one of the most tumultuous transformations in its history. The Department of Government Efficiency’s dismantling of USAID and transfer of its remaining programs to the State Department upended the U.S. global development industry. But it’s much more than a question of organizational charts and institutional responsibilities. At stake are fundamental questions about A...

At this year’s annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Riga, Latvia, discussions centered on a critical structural shift: what development finance should look like in an age of persistent volatility. Ukraine is increasingly shaping the answer, as the bank’s sustained financing during the war emerges as a potential blueprint for future conflicts. We were also on th...

Much of Seth Berkley's career has been an attempt to answer the question: How do you get vaccines to people who aren’t well-served by an inequitable global health system? When the COVID-19 outbreak exploded in early 2020, that question took on new urgency — along with a mind-spinning slew of political, economic, technological, and cultural complications. Berkley, then the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine...

This week, we unpack the latest on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. With no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo species driving the spread, we dive into the race to develop a vaccine and the critical funding shortfalls standing in the way. While pledges have been made, much of that support has yet to reach those affected on the ground. We also discu...

Coefficient Giving, one of the world’s largest effective-giving funders, is about to go even bigger. On the heels of its biggest funding year ever in 2025 — in which it channeled over $1 billion to highest-impact causes — the organization formerly known as Open Philanthropy and funded by Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna is eyeing annual growth upward of 50% and bringing o...

In this episode, we look back at the conferences we reported from over the past few weeks, reflecting on how global development narratives are evolving across both the global north and the global south. With traditional donors stepping back, the African Development Bank is using its annual meetings to urge governments to fix tax inefficiencies and better mobilize domestic resources to drive sustai...

Filmed live from Geneva, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly, this episode of This Week in Global Development delves into the critical debates unfolding on the ground in Geneva. That includes the tense atmosphere following the World Health Organization’s rare decision to proclaim a global health emergency over the latest Ebola outbreak, mounting fears regarding the virus tra...

In a special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, Devex cofounder and Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Brazilian thoracic surgeon Dr. Ricardo Sales do Santos to discuss a revolutionary approach to tackling lung cancer in medically underserved communities in Brazil.   As the most lethal form of cancer globally, lung cancer often goes undetected until its final...

This week, we look ahead to the key talking points at the 79th World Health Assembly, where the Devex team will be reporting from next week. As the World Health Organization continues to operate on a deficit, and with the U.S. withdrawal from the agency, we dig into what the future holds for WHO and how this shifting financial landscape will reshape the global health architecture. With WHO facing...

In this special episode of This Week in Global Development, Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, joins Devex Managing Editor Anna Gawel to discuss a paradigm shift in African infrastructure investment. Africa50, a pan-African investor, is moving beyond one-off projects to aggregate large-scale, “institution-grade” sustainable energy assets. By shifting the narrative from a development imperative to a...

This week, we take you inside a Devex exclusive: the $60 million fiasco at the United Nations, a complex story with an equally complex set of characters, including Vitaly Vanshelboim, whose rise and fall left a black mark on a key U.N. agency. Once revered as a financial wizard, Vanshelboim was the man credited with pulling UNOPS back from the brink of bankruptcy. However, as our investigation rev...

As AI models scale globally, social enterprises are increasingly working with frontier AI labs to test, adapt, and improve the technology in local contexts. This episode explores how those partnerships could determine whether AI reinforces existing inequalities — or helps close them.

In an internal memo seen by Devex, the Trump administration has threatened to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to the United Nations unless it adopts a slate of nine “quick win” reforms. We break down the demands and what they reveal about the United States’ new road map for multilateral engagement. We also received a recent congressional notification which reveals that USAID ha...

This week, we are on the ground in Oxford for the Skoll World Forum, an annual international convening of social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and leaders across government and civil society. While the global development community faced significant headwinds from foreign aid cuts this time last year, the atmosphere at this year’s forum remains optimistic and focused on resilient solutions. Durin...

In a special edition of the This Week in Development podcast, Devex Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Ambassador Keisha McGuire, chief global affairs officer at RestoringVision, to explore the profound economic ripple effects of addressing near-vision loss, or presbyopia. While often dismissed as a mere "annoyance," age-related vision loss is a significant barrier to global heal...

In this episode of Global Progress in the AI Era, a government minister and tech entrepreneur argue that the future of AI will be determined by thousands of small choices. Taking part in the conversation hosted by Devex Senior Editor for Special Coverage Catherine Cheney were Amini founder and CEO Kate Kallot, as well as Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation, and digital e...

Against the backdrop of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings, Devex reporters Adva Saldinger, Michael Igoe, and Ayenat Mersie dissect the stories they’ve been hearing on the ground this week. That includes the latest OECD figures showing a staggering 25% drop in official development assistance, the ripple effects of the conflict in the Middle East, and a newfound focus on rebuilding public conse...