Trump unveils ‘draconian’ cuts to foreign aid
5/6/2025: If fully enacted, the Trump administration's 2026 budget cuts would bring funding to its lowest level since before World War II, just 0.03% of the country’s gross domestic product, compared to a 0.3% average across the last decade.
Source: Devex
Africa’s cost of capital crisis is a test for G20
20/5/2025: Three presidential candidates for the African Development Bank believe that African nations are being punished by a global financial system that systematically overprices the cost of borrowing. Twenty low-income African countries are already in or near debt distress.
Source: Devex
Bill Gates accelerates distribution from Gates Foundation
8/5/2025: Bill Gates has announced that he will make available virtually all his remaining fortune to the Gates Foundation in the next 20 years, rather than extending 20 years after his death. This is his response to cuts in national aid budgets by countries led by the US.
Source: Devex
In 2024, global aid fell for the first time in five years
16/4/2025: Global official development assistance dropped 7.1% in 2024, as donor countries scaled back funding for Ukraine, humanitarian crises, and refugee costs. Member countries of the Development Assistance Committee contributed a combined $212.1 billion, representing 0.33% of their collective gross national income. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will update these provisional figures in December.
Source: Devex
China’s big development projects are getting smaller
3/4/2025: China’s shift from massive infrastructure projects in low-income countries was partly a response to rising international criticism for inducing debt crises. With the dismantling of USAID and Europe’s aid cuts, the strategy has new relevance in an increasingly volatile development landscape.
Source: Devex
Building resilience in Least Developed Countries
28/3/2025: The UN High Representative for the 44 Least Developed Countries calls for increased concessional financing and enhanced support for debt relief to build a more equitable, sustainable future for all. These nations, home to over one billion people, contribute merely 3.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they bear the brunt of climate impacts.
Source: Inter Press Service
Yemen faces devastating aid crisis after a decade of conflict
26/3/2025: A decade after the start of the conflict in Yemen, the country remains deeply divided, facing economic freefall. The number of people estimated to experience food insecurity is expected to rise far beyond the current figure of 17 million due to global cuts to aid funding. US funding has stopped overnight, affecting half of humanitarian programmes in Yemen.
Source: Oxfam International
Humanitarian data: the deeper damage wrought by US cuts
25/3/2025: From household health surveys on the ground to satellite images taken from space, the vast information networks that inform the humanitarian system are teetering on the brink of “collapse” as a result of the US government budget cuts.
Source: The New Humanitarian
Has USAID spending been cut by less than we thought?
24/3/2025: Figures from the Center for Global Development, based on leaked lists of terminated and retained programs, place USAID spending cuts at around 34% — way lower than estimates based just on the number of canceled programs.
Source: Devex
Judge finds DOGE’s shutdown of USAID ‘likely’ unconstitutional
19/3/2025: In a lawsuit brought by a group of anonymous USAID employees and contractors, a federal judge ordered employees access to USAID systems reinstated and barred Elon Musk and DOGE from taking further actions to shutter USAID. He stopped short of reinstating terminated programs or compelling payments.
Source: Devex