This Week in Global Development6 Jun 2024

U.S. lawmakers spar over foreign aid, and debt relief for small island states

This week we reported on a House foreign affairs subcommittee hearing in which Republicans tried to paint the U.S. government’s entire approach to foreign assistance as wasteful and counterproductive — but they faced pushback from Democrats who argued that human rights grants are critical in the global contest between democracy and autocracy.

The hearing took place against the backdrop of a proposed House of Representatives budget bill that would impose an 11% cut across U.S. foreign affairs spending, which would be 19% less than what President Joe Biden requested. The proposed funding bill cuts “wasteful spending” and “continues reestablishing American leadership” where the Biden administration has been lacking.

We also look back at an event that took place in Washington D.C., during which U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed tackling humanitarian crises, adapting to the rise of artificial intelligence, and partnering with other nations to drive development through debt relief and infrastructure "corridors" connecting regions.

Meanwhile, during the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, or SIDS, concerned countries called for debt relief and more concessional funding to deliver on a 10-year strategy to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and build resilient economies. We highlight how a lack of support could decimate local livelihoods and lead to climate-induced migration.

For the latest episode of the podcast series, Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Liz Hume, executive director at the Alliance for Peacebuilding, as well as Devex Managing Editor Anna Gawel, to discuss this week’s top global development stories.

Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(244)

Special 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. However, moving past small-scale piloting to ...

6 Okt 27min

Special 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 op-eds, The Next Frontier – a Devex seri...

2 Okt 33min

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 dollars flow to 35 countries, shifting grea...

1 Okt 35min

The 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 Kahn and Mike Bracken CBE. Recorded at Deve...

30 Sep 29min

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 measures time to catch up. That only increase...

25 Sep 30min

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 sector. From U.S. President Donald Trump’s ...

24 Sep 20min

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 expand access across health, education, agricu...

17 Sep 38min

Special 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 sits down with Doug Galen, CEO of Ripplework...

15 Sep 32min