Presented by World Health Summit
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention carries a tremendous weight on its shoulders: the expectations of a continent of 1.4 billion people to elevate their voices on the global health stage. My colleagues Sara Jerving and Rumbi Chakamba have an in-depth report card on how the agency is living up to those lofty expectations.
Also in today’s edition: The State Department just got billions of dollars in USAID money to spend. Who’s going to watch over that spending?
+ Happening today: Billions in U.S. foreign aid are in limbo after USAID was dismantled. Join U.S. foreign aid experts Kate Eltrich and James Kunder for a Devex Pro Briefing that will unpack what’s happening behind the scenes. From budget rescissions to policy shifts, they will explore how this moment is reshaping aid delivery and what it means for professionals across the sector. Save your spot now.
A complex track record
Three years ago, Africa CDC achieved the landmark step of gaining autonomy from the African Union, making it a force to be reckoned with on the continent.
As the agency’s director-general, Dr. Jean Kaseya, said during a Devex event: “We are the convening power in Africa.”
But with rapid growth often come awkward growing pains, and Africa CDC — including Kaseya — has had its fair share of them, Sara and Rumbi report.
On the one hand, there have been successes — among them, building up the agency’s internal systems and confronting emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, there have been challenges — the struggle to directly manage its own finances, achieve sustainable levels of staffing, and dogged criticism of Kaseya’s management style.
Let’s look at one example: The agency is implementing a $100 million World Bank grant. According to a May email we’ve obtained, the bank expressed concern about what could be perceived as “extravagant” spending and could look like Africa CDC is operating like a “travel agency.”
But Africa CDC has made progress on implementing this grant. The World Bank updated its performance ranking for Africa CDC, no small feat, and Kaseya has said he’s been working to address inefficient spending.
Another issue is sunsetting partnerships. According to one internal report, out of 43 grants, 33 have either expired or will by year’s end. “This means Africa CDC needs to really pull up its socks in resource mobilization and getting more money to replace the money that is expiring. But the challenge is funders are not coming to the table,” says a former staffer. Africa CDC disputed these figures.
On the flip side, Africa CDC has landed new deals, such as a new partnership with the European Commission.
“Far from donors ‘not coming to the table,’ Africa CDC is preparing for major partnership announcements,” the agency tells us. “Africa CDC is not in retreat — it is in transition: moving from short-term COVID-19 emergency funding toward long-term, Africa-led financing solutions.”
Africa CDC did acknowledge that it’s “in a period of transformation, and transformation can be uncomfortable.” Its leader, nevertheless, sees a “brilliant” future ahead: “Yesterday, Africa CDC was a small player,” Kaseya says. “Today, Africa CDC is a big elephant in the room.”
Read: Africa CDC's rocky road to stability
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Watchful eye
Like Africa CDC, the U.S. Department of State has been saddled with enormous expectations: managing the entire foreign assistance portfolio once run by USAID. And the department’s independent watchdog wants to make sure DOS gets it right.
“In July 2025, responsibility for more than 1,000 USAID awards, valued at approximately $75 billion, transferred to the Department,” reads a fact sheet published on the website of the State Department’s Office of Inspector General, or OIG. “More than a dozen Department bureaus, some of which formed during the Department’s recent reorganization, and others that have not previously implemented foreign assistance programs, are now tasked with administering these awards.”
So the OIG is expanding its remit, my colleague Elissa Miolene writes, launching 25 new investigations that will probe whether the State Department is able to continue USAID’s foreign aid contracts effectively. That includes investigations into the estimated $1.8 billion of foreign aid sent to Ukraine, and the State Department’s ability to respond to international disasters after USAID’s dismantling, among other topics.
But before you get too impressed with this ostensible effort to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, it’s important to remember that during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first few weeks in office, the inspector generals of both the State Department and USAID watchdog offices were fired.
Today, USAID still has its own watchdog, which has 300 ongoing investigative matters open. But it’s come under fire from the administration as well. The White House proposed cutting USAID OIG’s budget from $85 million to zero in its 2026 budget request, while adding an extra $21.6 million to the State Department’s OIG.
To further complicate matters, Sen. James Risch, a Republican from Idaho, recently proposed an amendment to create another OIG for foreign assistance under the State Department, one that would allow for “independent and objective audits of foreign assistance programs at State.”
No word on how the role of such an OIG would differ from those of the State Department or USAID, or whether the new OIG would be a replacement for the latter agency’s watchdog office entirely.
Read: State Department watchdog office expands foreign aid investigations (Pro)
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Funding blockade
A new amendment to India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act blocks foreign-funded NGOs from distributing “news content” to their audiences.
Sound vague? That’s because it is — on purpose, argues Antonio Zappulla, CEO at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, in an opinion piece for Devex examining the scourge of foreign agent laws that have crippled NGOs.
“The ambiguity of the amendment serves to create a chilling effect in which NGOs would rather self-censor than risk losing a vital source of funds that keep them afloat,” he writes. “This is the latest example of the weaponization of laws around the world — adopted under the guise of protecting against foreign interference — that are, in reality, being abused to blunt the work of civil society.”
It’s nothing new. “Throughout modern history, one of the most paralyzing fears for any country is another meddling in its domestic affairs,” Zappulla points out.
But those fears have been warped and amped up. Over the span of just six months, Zappulla’s foundation uncovered that countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South America were awash with these laws.
“There can be little doubt at this point that there is a replicable playbook being passed among autocratic states,” he writes. “Sweeping foreign aid cuts have already decimated the budgets of many NGOs operating in these countries. Left unchecked, foreign agent laws could cut off what little is left.”
Opinion: Foreign agent laws are spreading like wildfire and crippling NGOs
Self-care for job seekers
A job in development can lead to burnout. So can looking for a job in development — a plight many people now face as this year’s aid cuts have shaved countless positions.
Scouring the internet, spending all hours filling out applications, and scrambling to network — all under a piling-up mountain of bills — is enough to wipe anyone out, which is why experts warn that failing to take care of yourself during the job hunt can actually impede your job prospects.
“It’s a real need to have a job and be financially stable [and people] think that that should supersede the need to look after yourself, but what I find is when people let go of looking after themselves, they often come to a stage of burnout,” Jeeda Alhakim, a specialist counseling psychologist, tells Devex contributing reporter Rebecca Root.
So how can you prevent burnout from seeping in? Experts advise tips such as sticking to a routine, identifying your goals, listening to your body, getting organized, and finding support.
“A job search is an emotionally demanding search, even in a good market,” says Rachel Korb, a coach and body-mind mentor. “You’re dealing with a lot of rejection and none of it’s personal, but it feels very personal as you’re going through the experience.”
Read: How to look after yourself in your development job hunt (Career)
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In other news
The U.N. Human Rights Council-appointed panel of independent experts concluded in its report that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. [AP]
U.N. chief António Guterres has proposed cutting 15% from the organization’s 2026 regular budget as part of the UN80 Initiative, which aims to reduce costs and streamline operations. [Barron’s]
China has been progressively delaying the payment of its annual U.N. membership dues, worsening the organization’s funding crisis. [Financial Times]
About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
