Podcast Summary: This Week in Global Development
Episode Title: What were trends that shaped global development in 2024?
Date: December 20, 2024
Host: Devex | Global Development
Main Speakers: Raj Kumar (President and Editor-in-Chief, Devex), David Ainsworth (Business Editor, Devex), Yolanda Wright (VP of Partnerships, GiveDirectly)
Special Mention: Kate Warren (Executive Editor, Devex) in a sponsorship spot
Episode Duration (Content): ~00:04 – 34:24
Overview
This episode recaps global development’s key themes and disruptions in 2024, focusing on the shift towards "My Country First" approaches, tightening aid budgets, adaptions in development messaging, and the evolving role of evidence-driven aid models such as cash transfers. The hosts and guest analyze how populist domestic politics, demographic pressures, and mounting humanitarian demands are reshaping priorities worldwide. They also discuss potential disruption and innovation in the aid sector, particularly from data-driven organizations and direct cash transfers, at a time of escalating need and resource constraints.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Rise of "My Country First" Politics
- Summary: Across the globe—particularly in the US, Europe, and Japan—countries are adopting more inward-looking, nationalist policies, affecting both aid flows and the language used by development organizations.
- Contributing Factors: Cost of living crises, political populism, middle-class struggles, and record-high elections have intensified insular tendencies.
- Quote:
- “People were getting...a little bit more on their own country, their own needs, maybe.” — David Ainsworth [01:19]
- “The sort of America first thing...has gone global. That was my takeaway.” — Raj Kumar [01:35]
2. Impacts on UK and US Development Policy
- UK:
- Continued skepticism about the reversal of isolationist trends despite ambitions of the new government.
- Closure of DFID (Department for International Development) symbolic of this shift.
- US:
- Bipartisan support for aid is waning; advocacy language must adapt to appeal to domestic interests.
- Quote:
- “Not exactly the messaging I think Global Britain would want.” — Raj Kumar [02:42]
3. Messaging and Advocacy in a Populist World
- Approach Shift: Aid organizations must emphasize economic sensibility, empowerment, and integration into global economies rather than traditional welfare narratives.
- Challenge: Convincing both the public and politicians amidst climate, poverty, and humanitarian crises.
- Quote:
- “It’s not a handout, it’s a hand up...integrating with economies.” — Yolanda Wright [06:38]
- “Very much not so popular at the moment is the idea of a kind of welfare handout...” — Yolanda Wright [06:55]
4. Debates on Reform and Missed Opportunities
- Missed Window: Some believe the sector failed to push effective reforms (like cash transfers) during more favorable political eras; now, such reforms risk being swept aside by budget cuts.
- Barriers to Reform: Aid is highly politicized and bureaucratic; earmarking and self-preservation prevent bolder changes.
- Quote:
- “It’s hard to get somebody to understand something if their next paycheck depends upon not understanding it.” — David Ainsworth [09:46]
5. Long-term Structural Challenges
- Economic Pressures: Demographic aging, rising pension and healthcare costs, national debts—even in wealthy nations—suggest a sustained turn inward.
- Case for Development: Long-term arguments for aid include addressing inequality to reduce migration, conflict, and to foster the skilled labor needed globally.
- Quote:
- “We may be really wanting those young people from Africa to be highly skilled...” — Yolanda Wright [13:22]
- “...the best possible opportunity to fulfill their human capacity...” — Yolanda Wright [13:44]
6. NGO & Humanitarian Sector Responses
- Immediate Impact: Budget cuts leading to layoffs and program reductions at major NGOs like Save the Children and IRC; humanitarian appeals remain woefully underfunded amid rising need.
- Optimism vs. Realism: Recognition of continuing advances in evidence and technology, but a warning that optimism should not paralyze necessary change.
- Quote:
- “Massive concern that there’s not going to be enough resources to go around…” — Yolanda Wright [15:14]
7. Humanitarian Trends & Data-Driven Approaches
- OCHA & Funding Gaps: Annual humanitarian appeals increasingly unmet; trend now is asking for more, receiving less, and serving fewer in crisis.
- Pandemic Fallout: Spike in need since COVID-19, with possible stabilization as pandemic aftershocks fade.
- Quote:
- “It’s almost become like a ritual where they ask for this huge amount of money...and then the world provides some small fraction of that...” — Raj Kumar [19:09]
- “OCHA’s [2023] statement...worst year for humanitarian aid on record...363 million people in need...” — David Ainsworth [20:30]
8. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Case Study
- Model & Expansion: MCC—data-driven, grant-making, criteria-based US agency—expanding from poor to middle-income countries; increasingly positioned as a tool for national security and foreign policy competition (notably vis-à-vis Russia and China).
- Quote:
- “It’s almost as if [MCC] was designed by people who actually work in development...” — David Ainsworth [25:00]
9. Cash as a Disruptive Force
- Evidence Use: Cash transfers, especially anticipatory cash (given in advance of a disaster), are highlighted as efficient, evidence-based solutions but are constrained by sectoral earmarks and institutional inertia.
- Potential for Disruption: Cash could radically streamline and empower, but so far has largely been co-opted into existing structures.
- Quote:
- “We should cut right through all these layers and go right to the people and let them decide...” — Raj Kumar [32:18]
- “The systems are very good at...absorbing things and channeling it in the existing way.” — Yolanda Wright [33:22]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
On the limits of “My Country First”:
“I don’t think that my country first thing is going to be...the best thing to be doing, even...developmentally the right thing to do.”
— Yolanda Wright [05:37]
On aid sector inertia:
“It’s hard to get somebody to understand something if their next paycheck depends upon not understanding it.”
— David Ainsworth [09:46]
On humanitarian resource gaps:
“There’s massive concern that there’s not going to be enough resources to go around and that...with climate change and ongoing conflicts, the needs are...likely to go up in an ever constrained world.”
— Yolanda Wright [15:14]
On evidence-based and disruptive aid:
“I do think there are things we know work...we have got a really wide range of evidence, not just for cash...we know what works and we know how to do it well.”
— Yolanda Wright [16:34]
On cash as localization:
“It’s such an empowering, the ultimate localization, right? You’re giving people who are...experiencing difficulty, disaster, poverty, etc. the ultimate choice...”
— Yolanda Wright [33:43]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 01:19 – Global trend: Shift away from internationalization, rise of "My Country First"
- 03:13 – Populism, cost of living, and election impacts on development aid
- 05:26 – Messaging strategies in current political climate; GiveDirectly’s experience
- 08:50 – Debates on reform opportunities and aid sector's challenges
- 11:46 – Economic and demographic long-term challenges in donor countries
- 14:51 – Immediate impacts on NGOs and humanitarian sector
- 17:39 – Evidence-driven optimism and technological leapfrogging in aid delivery
- 19:09 – OCHA and chronic underfunding of global humanitarian needs
- 20:30 – Humanitarian need trends: 2023’s historic high, potential improvement signs
- 22:59 – Spotlight on Millennium Challenge Corporation and its evolving model
- 29:44 – Importance of data-driven, anticipatory and flexible approaches
- 32:18 – The disruptive potential (and current limitations) of cash
- 34:24 – Conclusion: 2025 poised to be an era of disruption in global development
Conclusion
The panelists agree 2024 was marked by a pronounced turn inward among donor countries, heightened by economic and demographic stress, and a need for aid organizations to both adapt their messaging and push for greater efficiency through evidence and innovation—especially in the use of direct cash transfers. Despite huge challenges, there is cautious optimism that disruption may spark overdue reforms. Cash is heralded as both a symbol and a vehicle for that disruption, though its full transformative potential has yet to be realized. As the sector stands at a moment of reckoning, the coming year could see both pain and progress, demanding new approaches to serve the world’s most vulnerable.