This week at the U.N. General Assembly, global leaders are suiting up, literally and figuratively, to tackle the world’s biggest issues. Expect bold speeches, big promises, and lots of buzz — but will there also be serious global action?
This is a preview of Newswire
Sign up to this newsletter for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development, in your inbox daily.
Also in today’s edition: Apart from all that is UNGA, we bring you complaints from the United Kingdom about foreign aid.
+ Join the Devex news team for the summit The future can’t wait: Shaping tomorrow, today, happening from Sept. 25-26. Sign up now! This event is free.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC, took the stage at the Harvard Club during UNGA to sound the alarm on antimicrobial resistance — a public health crisis that’s quietly killing 1.3 million people a year. AMR happens when bacteria and other pathogens evolve to outsmart the drugs we use to kill them — and, according to The Lancet, from 2025 to 2050 there will be 39.1 million deaths attributable to AMR, and 169 million deaths associated with AMR. By 2050, as the African population is expected to double, AMR-associated deaths could rise to 4.1 million annually.
“You are looking at the face of someone who is in trouble,” Kaseya said, pointing to himself.
As usual, low- and middle-income countries are bearing the brunt of this crisis. Yet, international efforts have mostly focused on high-income nations, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Experts agree: What we need now is global coordination, better funding, and serious focus on these underserved regions.
It’s not just about developing new antibiotics — it’s about investing in infection control, diagnostics, and vaccines. Without stronger public health systems, we’re just running in circles. This week’s UNGA meeting is a chance for world leaders to step up and finally give AMR the attention it deserves, Devex contributing reporter Catherine Davison writes.
Read: Will the UNGA meeting on AMR deliver results for the global south?
+ Devex readers interested in more of the emerging issues in global health can download our free report, 5 Innovations in Global Health.
U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative last night, stepping onto the stage to a chorus of applause from the CGI crowd. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton presented him with the foundation’s Global Citizen Award, which honors individuals for their leadership on positive, lasting social change. The current president accepted with a speech — one that began with a recognition that Biden and Clinton had more than just the presidency in common.
“We both married way above our station,” Biden said, gesturing to current first lady Jill Biden and former first lady Hillary Clinton behind him.
Remember that ambitious plan to shrink the gender digital divide that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris launched last year? It’s picking up steam at UNGA, Devex Managing Editor Anna Gawel writes. The Women in the Digital Economy Fund, or WiDEF, with $60 million in backing from USAID and the Gates Foundation, just added two new heavy hitters: India’s Reliance Foundation and UPS. The fund also announced its 20 semifinalists for funding — 85% of them women-led, from a pool of 1,350 applications across 98 countries.
But before we get too excited, WiDEF’s new report reveals some hard truths: In 2023, 244 million more men are online than women. And in low-income countries, it’s even worse: Only 1 in 5 women have internet access compared to 1 in 3 men. Still, the gender digital divide has narrowed from 19% to 15% in the last three years, and WiDEF is determined to close the gap even more.
Read: USAID-Gates initiative moves ahead with closing gender digital divide
Sobering words from actor Meryl Streep at a U.N. conference yesterday on the Taliban crackdown on women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan: “A female cat has more freedom than a woman. A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban. A bird may sing in Kabul, but a girl may not.”
At an UNGA side event, Ethiopia’s education minister, Berhanu Nega, dropped a truth bomb: “Our education system is shot.” Turns out, the 60% pass rates for national exams were fudged for years to make the country look better than it was. When Berhanu took over, he reformed the system, and the real results were shocking: Only 3.2% of students passed, my colleague Elissa Miolene tells me.
But here’s the thing: For Berhanu, those brutal figures are a starting point. “If education is going to mean something, it has to be based on truths,” he said. Tough love, but exactly what the system needed to spark real change.
The Pact for the Future — a key U.N. document — was supposed to connect climate change with global peace and security, but after pushback from Russia and other large emerging economies, that crucial language was dropped. The pact, meant to shape the future of global cooperation, sets the stage for the 2024 Summit of the Future, but the absence of this link is frustrating many countries, especially those most vulnerable to climate impacts, Chloé Farand writes for Devex.
Small island states and African nations — where climate change fuels food insecurity and conflict — had hoped the U.N. would finally recognize the connection between climate, peace, and security. While experts say this nexus is clear, the issue has become “hyperpoliticized.” Critics argue that ignoring it leaves fragile states without the climate finance they desperately need to build resilience. Despite this setback, some African nations are advancing the conversation, hoping to mainstream peacebuilding in climate action through the African Union next month.
Read more: Link between climate and peace cut from UN Pact for the Future (Pro)
+ Not yet a Devex Pro member? Start your 15-day free trial today to access all our expert analyses, insider insights, funding data, exclusive events, and more.
While the streets of Manhattan are buzzing with global politics, over in rainy Liverpool, Devex U.K. Correspondent Rob Merrick is tracking the aftermath of Labour’s July election triumph. The Labour Campaign for International Development saw 11 of its champions elected to Parliament — but despite this win, the fight for a stronger U.K. aid effort isn’t over.
At Labour’s annual conference, David Taylor, LCID founder, made a candid plea for more support: “We need your help. I’ve had zero emails about aid, development, and climate change and the only comments I get on social media are: ‘Why are we doing this? You're spending more money in Ukraine and sending money abroad.’
“We do want to continue to be strongly committed to people in the world, but we do need to see public support increased to give us permission to act.”
It’s clear that until voters start shouting about global issues, real change will be slow. The message? Aid organizations need to get louder to make sure global development remains a priority.
Change is afoot at AGRA — Agnes Kalibata, its president for the past decade, is stepping down in early 2025. Kalibata joined AGRA in 2014 and has overseen major transformations, including a rebrand and debates on whether Africa’s agricultural future lies in industrial or smallholder farming, my colleague Ayenat Mersie writes. AGRA has been a big player in African agricultural policy, thanks to over $1 billion in support from the Gates Foundation and other donors, and has helped millions of farmers access better seeds and financial services.
But it hasn’t escaped criticism. Agricultural yields across much of Africa remain low, and critics say the organization has pushed industrial farming at the expense of sustainable practices. AGRA’s 2022 rebrand signaled a shift toward sustainability, but some remain unconvinced, even calling for "reparations" for the alleged harm caused by promoting industrial agriculture. As AGRA searches for Kalibata’s successor, the new leader will have to balance supporting farmers with prioritizing more sustainable, climate-resilient methods.
Read: AGRA President Agnes Kalibata to step down in 2025
During the CGI annual meeting in New York, U.S. first lady Jill Biden announced a $500 million annual commitment to women's health research to address health inequities in the U.S. [AP]
Denmark has pledged almost $492 million to the replenishment of the World Bank's IDA fund for the lowest-income nations, marking a 40% increase over its previous contribution. [Reuters]
The cholera outbreak in Sudan is worsening amid ongoing conflict, floods, and displacement, killing 388 and infecting 13,000 in the past two months. [VOA]
Sign up to Newswire for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development.