US Congress passes $50 billion foreign affairs bill
3/2/2026: The $50 billion compromise foreign affairs spending bill is now law — even if it took a little longer than expected. Although the total is nearly $20 billion above the president’s budget request, humanitarian assistance funding is roughly 37% lower than the previous year.
Source: Devex
Gates Foundation doubles down on goals in a world weighed down by crisis
3/2/2026: The Chief Executive explains why the Foundation’s primary goals, such as eliminating deaths of mothers and children to preventable causes, will be reinforced despite recent setbacks in foreign aid commitments of the US and other governments. The Gates Foundation targets $9 billion per year of funding for human development.
Source: Devex
Top donor Norway launches total aid policy review
2/2/2026: Norway has launched a wide-ranging review of its international development policy, aiming to respond to dramatic changes in the world, including aid cuts, and attacks on international collaboration, One of the few remaining European donors to honour longstanding targets for foreign aid, Norway is committed to maintain an ad budget of 1% of gross domestic income.
Source: The New Humanitarian
Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ redraws US foreign aid map
29/1/2026: The US State Department has released its latest five-year strategy which includes foreign assistance. Africa is only mentioned once in the 19-page strategy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals are deemed to be “inconsistent with U.S. sovereignty and adverse to the rights and interests of Americans.”
Source: Devex
Global aid is leaving the poorest behind
28/1/2026: A report by Eurodad argues that technical reforms have diverted foreign aid away from poverty reduction and toward the commercial and political priorities of donor countries. For example, donors are now more likely to favour loans over grants, even as many low-income countries face mounting debt distress.
Source: Devex
This jubilee year must herald a new era of global debt relief
15/12/2025: Every 25 years the Catholic Church celebrates a jubilee, a time marked by forgiveness of debt. The most recent jubilee, in 2000, led to the largest debt forgiveness in modern history, as 36 countries benefited from $76 billion in relief. As the 2025 jubilee year comes to an end, the debt burden of the poorest countries remains stubbornly unsustainable.
Source: Devex
Where do the USAID legal battles stand?
3/12/2025: The radical disbandment of USAID has triggered a growing coalition of partners, employees, and grantees fighting back through a web of legal tests. Some have secured early wins, but most remain locked in procedural battles that may still take months to resolve.
Source: Devex
The G20 has failed on debt relief
24/11/2025: When South Africa assumed the Presidency of the G20, debt sustainability was placed front and centre. Many hoped that, with an African country at the helm, the G20 would finally deliver real solutions to the debt crisis gripping the Global South – particularly Africa. As the South African presidency drew to a close, nothing has fundamentally changed and it is time to look to the UN for genuine solutions.
Source: Inter Press Service
G20 recommits to debt relief — but critics say it’s far from enough
21/10/2025: The G20 has released a ministerial declaration on debt reaffirming support for the Common Framework, its mechanism for coordinating debt relief among low-income countries. Launched in 2020, the Framework was designed to streamline debt restructuring but only a handful of countries — Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia — have gone through the process.
Source: Devex
From aid to investment: Reshaping Africa’s path to growth
21/10/2025: Africa’s long reliance on foreign aid has come at the expense of its own industrial and human capital development. A shift from aid to investment will require stronger institutions, better-prepared projects, and renewed focus on local capacity.
Source: Devex