Devex Newswire: Did foreign aid help fuel anti-gay sentiment in Uganda?

Foreign aid money has flowed to Ugandan groups that have amped up the already-charged anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in a country where being gay could be a death sentence. Also in today’s edition: The Open Society Foundations, which is in the throes of a major makeover, says that by streamlining its work, it can scale up its impact. + Upcoming event: On April 27, we’ll host a free Devex career development roundtable on how to navigate the path from college to social impact or globaldev careers. Save your spot. Foreign interference Amid the international uproar over an anti-homosexuality bill that could effectively hand down death sentences for being gay, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has blamed foreign influence for the presence of LGBTQ+ people in the East African nation he’s ruled for 37 years. But foreign aid may have actually inflamed the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment that contributed to the bill. Aid donors including the U.S. and U.K. have given at least $40 million since 2014 to organizations that advocated against gay rights in Uganda, according to a new report. The research revealed “a really staggering number of connections” between aid donors and anti-LGBTQ+ religious organizations in Uganda, said Claire Provost, the report’s author and the co-founder of The Institute for Journalism and Social Change. Donors named in the report include the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which has an ongoing project aimed at delivering “an open society” that lists the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda as an implementing partner. IRCU previously lost U.S. aid funding due to its anti-LGBTQ+ activities, my colleague Jessica Abrahams writes. Edward Mutebi, a Ugandan LGBTQ+ activist, says that the anti-homosexuality bill has been “very much supported and pushed by the religious actors and religious organizations.” “Instead of putting money where it’s going to turn out to be deadly to a certain section of people or a community, I would suggest that this money is directed to these women and LGBT organizations,” he says. Read: How foreign aid supported anti-LGBTQ+ advocates in Uganda Leaner; hopefully not meaner The Open Society Foundations is in the midst of a massive reshuffle that has resulted in staff cuts and office closures as the philanthropic juggernaut founded by billionaire investor George Soros more than three decades ago prepares for a leaner, more agile future. And there are more changes to come, my colleague Stephanie Beasley reports. OSF leaders will soon consider where else the enormous charitable foundation might shutter offices and trim staff, according to the organization’s president, Mark Malloch-Brown. It’s all part of a “fundamental transformation” that he says will allow it “to bring more focus, integration, and scale to our work.” Before the restructuring began in 2021, OSF had 22 regional and national foundations and 44 offices with 1,684 staff, a spokesperson said. Today, there are 12 OSF offices, 11 national foundations, and a staff of 1,170. Not surprisingly, the loss of jobs and grant money didn’t sit well with some, but OSF — which still boasts a very healthy $22 billion endowment — says its sprawling structure complicated efforts to nimbly respond to “the changing reality of the world,” including the rise of authoritarianism. Malloch-Brown says that OSF — the world’s largest human rights and civil liberties philanthropy — can do more good by focusing on fewer countries and more specific areas: “If you try and distribute across too many countries, you just lose impact.” Read: Open Society Foundations readies for next phase of reorganization (Pro) + Start your 15-day free trial of Devex Pro today to access all our exclusive reporting and analysis. Data with destiny It’s great to give away millions or billions of dollars. It’s even better to see where it’s all going so the world can make the most of it. Coming up with international standards to track cross-border charitable giving could offer the aid sector a clearer picture of how philanthropists are contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, according to a new global philanthropy tracker report from Indiana University. Knowing where the money is flowing — whether to climate change, racial justice, or poverty — would allow governments to see how private philanthropic money might complement official foreign assistance. It used to be that “ODA was pretty much the name of the game,” but now there is a “much more complex reality,” Una Osili of IU’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy tells Stephanie. Read: Global giving tracking could be key to reaching UN goals, according to report Double-edged data Better data leads to better decision making. That’s the impetus behind both the global philanthropy tracker and the U.N.’s fourth World Data Forum, which is being held this week in Hangzhou, China. The choice of location is interesting, to say the least, considering Beijing’s notorious track record of using data to surveil its own people, not to mention statistics that critics say wildly underestimated the impact of the pandemic in China. Devex Executive Vice President Kate Warren is at the forum to moderate two panels (and give us the inside scoop). She described an opening day filled with a parade of Chinese leaders stressing their nation’s global leadership on data privacy, security, inclusivity, and innovation. Hypervigilant ushers made sure no one stood up to snap photos, block views, or approach the vice premiers and Chinese dignitaries sitting in luxurious armchairs in the front rows (the rest of the crowd had folding chairs). Kate tells me it’s clear China wants to use one of its first international conferences after lifting pandemic travel restrictions to show the world it is still a global player and can be trusted in the data realm. Trust may be in short supply on that front. Still, the conference hosts didn’t waste the opportunity to show off the crown jewel city of Hangzhou: 20 minutes of the hourlong ceremony was a visual tour of the city, complete with a swag bag that contained a high-end silk scarf, a nod to Hangzhou’s role as a key stop along the Silk Road. On the back foot Despite intermittent ceasefires, fighting in Sudan has raged for 10 days and cost hundreds of lives. U.N. agencies and aid providers have not been spared from the violence, and one of the largest aid operations on the planet has been severely hampered — although it was already barely limping along even before clashes broke out between Sudan’s army and a rival paramilitary force. Figures from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs show that before the current battles erupted, $1.75 billion was likely needed to meet humanitarian needs in the country, although only $236.7 million had been received. So far this year, $437.5 million was needed for food security and livelihoods and another $475 million for refugee response, prior to the recent conflict. If the fighting continues, you can safely bet those numbers will skyrocket. In other news The World Health Organization has dismissed one of its senior officials, who faced three separate allegations of sexual misconduct over a period of five years. [Financial Times] The International Monetary Fund has approved the first review of Tanzania’s three-year extended credit facility, paving the way for the immediate disbursement of up to $153 million in budgetary support. [Reuters] After an unexpected meeting with Myanmar’s military leaders, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an end to violence in the country, the implementation of a peace plan by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and a U.N. resolution to stop ongoing conflict. [AP News] Update, April 25, 2023: This newsletter has been updated to clarify that aid donors have given at least $40 million to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations in Uganda. Sign up to Newswire for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development.