Shows / This Week in Global Development
This Week in Global Development
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 break down major headlines and invite members of the Devex newsroom to share their expert analysis.
Get up-to-date on news regarding foreign aid, humanitarian crises, the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, finance, philanthropy, climate, food systems, global health, and stay informed on the latest trends and…
Episodes
- This Week in Global Development
Global Fund's big news and who's behind 'America First' health strategy
This week we learned that Dr. Mark Dybul will take over The Global Fund amid significant changes in global health, including declining traditional foreign aid…
This Week in Global DevelopmentGlobal Progress in the AI Era: Shalina Wadhwani: Start with the problem, not the AI tool
In a live episode of Global Progress in the AI Era, Shalina Wadhwani discussed what Wadhwani AI has learned from building tools with governments — and what she…
This Week in Global DevelopmentAI That Delivers: Building More Effective and Trusted Public Services
As governments face growing pressure to modernize public services and rebuild citizen trust, artificial intelligence offers new opportunities to improve…
- This Week in Global Development
The latest in the UN secretary-general race
This week, we take a look at the latest in the U.N. secretary-general race. In the latest informal straw poll to gauge support for the next U.N…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: How deep partnership with Haitian communities redefines possibility
Haiti has spent years dominating international headlines almost exclusively through the lens of political crisis and humanitarian emergency. But behind the…
- This Week in Global Development
Live from Bangkok: An update from the World Bank and IMF annual meetings
This week we are coming to you live from Devex Impact House, our summit on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF annual meetings. We unpack the bank’s push…
- This Week in Global Development
Live from Berlin: Key takeaways from the World Health Summit
This week, the Devex team is on the ground in Berlin for the World Health Summit. We explore how this year’s event stands apart from previous iterations and…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Why Are Money and Systems Failing Disability?
In this special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, produced in partnership with the Global Disability Fund, Devex co-founder and Executive…
This Week in Global DevelopmentBeyond World Sight Day: Can the Global Summit for Eye Health Make Vision Impossible to Ignore?
More than 90% of global vision loss is preventable or treatable with low-cost interventions such as cataract surgery or prescription glasses. Yet 1.1 billion…
- This Week in Global Development
Building resilient systems in development finance and global health
This week we are at Building Bridges, a conference aiming to bring different stakeholders together to build investable solutions to global challenges. We…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial Edition: AI in practice: Bridging the implementation gap
Across the global development landscape, artificial intelligence promises to redefine how health, education, and social protection services are delivered…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Reimagining financing for development and growth
The fundamental question of how development and growth are financed is undergoing a profound transformation. Over the course of a series of original essays and…
- This Week in Global Development
Inside the US global health overhaul and Buffett's philanthropic strategy
The United States is set to implement one of the biggest overhauls of its global health assistance in decades. The new strategy will reshape how billions of…
This Week in Global DevelopmentThe Power to Decide: Reclaiming Sovereignty in a Digital Era
In this special edition episode of This Week in Global Development, sponsored by Public Digital, Devex's Alan Robbins sits down with Public Digital's Lauren…
- This Week in Global Development
Global Progress in the AI Era: As Anthropic urges caution on AI, its ‘beneficial deployments’ work grows
Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei made headlines recently by calling for slowing the development of increasingly powerful AI models to give safety…
- This Week in Global Development
Live from UNGA: Navigating the new era of multilateralism
This week we are closely tracking the conversations at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly and what they mean for the global development…
- This Week in Global Development
The Gates Foundation's latest AI pledge, and a look ahead to UNGA 81
This week, we report on the Gates Foundation’s 2026 Goalkeepers Report, which includes a $1 billion pledge to make AI more inclusive. The funding aims to…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: The real funding gap isn't money
In this special episode of the This Week in Global Development podcast, sponsored by Rippleworks, Devex Senior Editor for Special Coverage Catherine Cheney…
- This Week in Global Development
Bypassing the traditional aid system: The big bet to end starvation
This week, we discuss our in-depth story on Operation End Starvation, a new initiative aiming to remake the global malnutrition supply chain. With a focus on…
- This Week in Global Development
The fight over $7.5B in expiring aid and a rejected State Department grant
We recently reported that roughly $7.5 billion in international affairs funding is set to expire by the end of this month. In a letter, more than 100 U.S…
- This Week in Global Development
The water sector’s funding challenge and Asia’s philanthropy push
At World Water Week in Stockholm, financing took center stage ahead of the U.N. Water Conference in Abu Dhabi this December. The annual gathering saw around…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Rethinking the housing crisis
What if housing finance could help solve today's biggest challenges? In this special episode, Habitat for Humanity’s Jacqueline Innocent reveals why housing is…
- This Week in Global Development
Famine reporting goes dark in 3 crisis zones, and COP31’s critical test
Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, three of the world’s most hunger-prone nations, were removed from the latest reporting by the Famine Early Warning Systems…
- This Week in Global Development
Inside the State Department’s historic pivot to faith-based organizations
In this episode of This Week in Global Development, Business Editor David Ainsworth sits down with Senior Reporters Michael Igoe and Sara Jerving to discuss…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Are jobs for youth development's silver bullet?
In this week’s special edition episode of the This Week in Global Development podcast, sponsored by the International Youth Foundation and the Caterpillar…
- This Week in Global Development
Tracking the real-world impacts of US foreign aid cuts
This week, we discuss The Aid Report, a project supported by a media grant from the Gates Foundation to track the real-world impacts of U.S. foreign aid cuts…
- This Week in Global Development
The new era of US and European foreign assistance
This week we look back at the last 18 months of U.S. foreign assistance — a period defined by the dismantling of USAID and the absorption of foreign aid…
- This Week in Global Development
Turning World Cup hype into impact, and governing AI for good
With the FIFA World Cup entering its final week, we explore how NGOs operating in participating nations can leverage the tournament’s spotlight to advance…
- This Week in Global Development
Uncertainty over UNAIDS’ future and avoiding sexual abuse in Ebola response
With uncertainty lingering over its future, we discuss a new UNAIDS interim report outlining potential pathways forward — including further downsizing the…
- This Week in Global Development
US aid leadership changes and a controversial UN merger
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…
- This Week in Global Development
Special edition: Live from Hamburg: Can governments still invest in the future?
This special two-part edition of This Week in Global Development comes to you from the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, where leaders from across…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: The blueprint for better lung cancer screening
In this special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, produced in partnership with the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, Devex co-founder and…
- This Week in Global Development
Live from London Climate Action Week
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…
- This Week in Global Development
Fact-checking US aid claims as the State Department continues to hire
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…
- This Week in Global Development
Development banks pivot strategies as global volatility deepens
At this year’s annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Riga, Latvia, discussions centered on a critical structural shift…
- This Week in Global Development
The latest on the Ebola outbreak response
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…
- This Week in Global Development
Can domestic resources and private capital fund development?
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…
- This Week in Global Development
Live from the World Health Assembly
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…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Early detection in Brazil is a game changer for lung cancer care
In a special edition of the This Week in Global Development podcast, Devex cofounder and Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Brazilian…
- This Week in Global Development
What can we expect from the 79th World Health Assembly?
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…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Turning sustainable energy into a viable asset class in Africa
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…
- This Week in Global Development
Inside the corruption scandal that tarnished the UN
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…
- This Week in Global Development
Reform or be defunded: The Trump administration’s demands for the UN
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…
- This Week in Global Development
The new world order of aid: Inside the Skoll World Forum
This week, we are on the ground in Oxford for the Skoll World Forum, an annual international convening of social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and leaders…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Visionomics - how eyeglasses drive economic growth
In a special edition of the This Week in Development podcast, Devex Executive Vice President Alan Robbins sits down with Ambassador Keisha McGuire, chief…
- This Week in Global Development
Global Progress in the AI Era: The future of AI will be decided by small choices with big stakes
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…
- This Week in Global Development
Inside the World Bank Spring Meetings
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…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Every crisis is political - redefining humanitarian response
The international aid system has long operated on the ideal of "neutrality," but our latest episode of This Week in Global Development, sponsored by the Urgent…
- This Week in Global Development
A look at the United States' new foreign aid strategy
This week, we discuss the United States’ new highly targeted approach to humanitarian aid, showcased in a $2 billion agreement with the U.N. Office for the…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: Breast cancer as a global development challenge
In this special episode of This Week in Global Development, we explore breast cancer not just as a health challenge, but as a critical development challenge…
- This Week in Global Development
Unpacking the UK's new aid strategy and the World Bank's approach to water
We dig into the key findings of a report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on philanthropic funding. As traditional…
- This Week in Global Development
Global Progress in the AI Era: Why investing in evidence is key to translating AI hype into impact
As governments and funders invest in AI for development, a critical question remains: what actually delivers impact? In this episode of Global Progress in the…
- This Week in Global Development
PEPFAR, Global Fund, and the future of HIV care
In this week’s edition of This Week in Global Development, we unpack the precarious state of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR…
- This Week in Global Development
Global Progress in the AI Era: How GiveDirectly is using AI to deliver cash faster
In this episode of Global Progress in the AI Era, Nick Allardice explains how GiveDirectly is using AI to deliver faster, more direct aid — from anticipatory…
This Week in Global DevelopmentSpecial edition: What will it take to reverse HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia?
While HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are declining globally, the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, or EECA, tells a different story. It is now…
- This Week in Global Development
Latin America and Africa paths diverge amid global shocks
A tale of two continents is unfolding in the global development landscape as Latin America embraces a surge of private investment while Africa grapples with…
- This Week in Global Development
Global Progress in the AI Era: What happens when AI labs and social enterprises build together?
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 Week in Global Development
Inside CSW: What is at stake for gender equality?
This week, we are reporting from the Commission on the Status of Women — the world’s largest gathering on gender equality, which is taking place at the United…
- This Week in Global Development
Global Progress in the AI Era: Can a new effort scale AI for good to reach hundreds of millions?
Too many “AI for good” pilots fail before reaching the people who need them most. To solve this scaling crisis, Kanika Bahl, the CEO of Evidence Action, is…
- This Week in Global Development
Inside EIB’s critical meetings and USAID’s controversial shutdown
This week, we are reporting from the European Investment Bank’s annual meetings in Luxembourg to better understand the direction in which the institution is…