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Can foreign assistance successfully marry generosity with national economic and security self-interest? We’re about to find out with U.S. President Donald Trump’s new approach to global health.
Also in today’s edition: What do the black soldier fly and a “love shack” have to do with malnutrition, forests, and fertilizers? We find out.
“Hope” and “opportunity.” That’s what former USAID Administrator Mark Green says Trump’s emerging global health strategy offers — with its emphasis on innovation and private sector collaboration — something the development community “can’t afford to let slip away.”
“The instinct in Washington has long been to change things gradually — to commission studies, redraw boxes on organizational charts, and rename programs,” Green writes in an opinion piece for Devex. “But that bureaucracy-centric approach will do little to help us respond to urgent needs in many parts of the world, nor will it meet the current administration’s demand for a new model in foreign assistance that puts American leadership and private enterprise front and center.”
That new model is already materializing, Green points out, especially in the realm of global health, often considered the “heart of U.S. soft power.”
“The State Department’s America First Global Health Strategy carries forward a groundbreaking partnership with the drugmaker Gilead to deliver a new HIV prevention medicine lenacapavir to millions,” he writes, also citing the recent $150 million deal with Zipline, an American robotics and autonomous drone delivery company, to expand its health care operations in five African countries.
“Not only do participating governments strengthen their health care networks, but it’s also an economic opportunity for African countries since Zipline hires locally to staff distribution centers and flight operations,” Green notes.
While the announcements don’t constitute a comprehensive plan just yet, Green sees four strategic directions emerging: The Trump administration intends to promote jobs and economic growth; it wants to protect America’s public health security; intends to invest in innovation and scale what works; and plans to prioritize results.
“On my very first day at USAID back in 2017, I reminded our team that, ‘The purpose of all foreign assistance must be ending its need to exist,’” writes Green, who served in the first Trump administration. “In other words, sustainability and self-reliance should be at the heart of everything we do.”
Opinion: Hopeful signs are emerging from the US global health strategy
ICYMI: State Dept grants $150M to Zipline to triple African drone operations
+Listen: For the latest episode of our podcast series, Devex’s David Ainsworth, Colum Lynch, and Elissa Miolene discuss this week’s top global development stories, including the major storylines emerging from the G20 Summit.
At the Madagascar Biodiversity Center, researchers are betting big on a tiny hero: the black soldier fly, or BSF. The roof of the center, nicknamed the “love shack,” is buzzing with mating BSF, whose protein-rich larvae could help fight malnutrition, protect forests, and make organic fertilizers more affordable.
“It’s a magical insect” with “amazing properties,” says Tanjona Ramiadantsoa, scientific director at the center. “It ticks almost all the boxes.”
Indeed, it’s a multifaceted little guy. While they aren’t a replacement for all livestock, BSF are much easier to farm on a small scale, and they convert low-value organic residues into biomass that can be used as fertilizer or high-quality protein for feeding farm animals, my colleague Sara Jerving explains. And — where people are open to it — can even be eaten, with some families frying them or adding them to sauces.
The Madagascar Biodiversity Center, or MBC, is also working with EXA Food & Feed to turn black soldier flies and crickets into fortified powders that can be used for school feeding programs, humanitarian aid, and health clinics.
Madagascar is one of the world’s biodiversity hot spots. But it’s also high in poverty and malnutrition — and the demand for food and traditional farming practices threatens that biodiversity. But BSF offers an all-purpose alternative; even the waste, or “frass,” from raising the flies can be used as organic fertilizer.
“It's almost a nice, perfect circular economy,” Ramiadantsoa says. “It’s an amazing solution for Madagascar.”
MBC opened its edible insects lab in 2022, and through its programhas already trained over 700 farmers and supported more than 230 micro farms. Crickets are still part of the mix, but they’re fussier to raise. BSF suits small farmers better.
U.S. cuts halted some USAID-funded work, including a program testing cricket-fortified food. MBC founder Brian Fisher says the loss has slowed scale-up, but work continues with support from foundations, private donors, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme.
The hope is that Madagascar’s success helps spark global uptake. And, culturally, the versatile little fly might win people over yet. Ramiadantsoa says: “Everyone who has tried fried BSF, they’re like: ‘Oh, this is delicious.’”
Read: Can a ‘magical’ insect help Madagascar battle malnutrition, deforestation?
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The Innovation Foundation was created by the Adecco Group in 2017 as a traditional corporate foundation specializing mainly in transactional grantmaking but with an eclectic, albeit scattershot, mix of initiatives. As Innovation Fund Managing Director Cynthia Hansen put it during a recent Devex Pro Briefing: “There was a little bit of a mishmash of things that went into the foundation … a bit of youth, a bit of sport, a bit of athletes, some music, some humanitarian.”
Eight years later, it’s still connected to the Adecco Group but operates as what Hansen calls a “social innovation lab” — a testing ground for new models of corporate philanthropy built not on grantmaking but on design, venture-building, and open-source dissemination, Christine Sow writes for Devex.
As such, it is no longer an outright donor, but rather invests in R&D to tackle employment challenges.
One example is its Youth@Risk initiative in Mexico. After examining trends across youth, women, and refugees, the Innovation Lab team came up with a community-oriented career information and inspiration campaign designed to feel like it came “from somebody from your neighborhood, not an official government source, so it’s more accessible,” Hansen said. Built with a tech partner, the tool translates daily experiences into competencies and generates CVs.
The whole thing was then handed off to a nonprofit promoting youth employment — which now runs it independently. “In 2025, there’s no more of my team in that, and there’s no more of our direct money in it,” Hansen said. “We’ve used this vehicle of being a corporate foundation as a way to really push the boundaries of what corporate philanthropy can be.”
Read: Is the Innovation Foundation a new model of corporate philanthropy? (Pro)
Related: This grantmaker offers a model for long-term, African-led philanthropy (Pro)
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With development jobs scarce, consulting has become a popular, if daunting, career move. During a recent Devex Careers Briefing, two veteran consultants offered tips to lower the intimidation factor.
One piece of advice? Focus on what makes you, well, you. “You’re probably good at a lot of things, but what is it from all those things that could make you stand out?” said Jami Johnson Darkoh.
And it’s been said before, but never discount the value of networking. While cold applications and requests for proposals — or RFPs — can yield occasional leads, most consulting opportunities come from the people who know your work.
“We don’t spend a lot of time sending out proposals where we have not been asked to send a proposal,” Candela Iglesias Chiesa said, adding that getting to the point where your services are requested comes from effective networking.
And don’t overcomplicate things in the beginning. A polished website, elaborate logo, or comprehensive branding strategy can all come later. These “are nice to have, [but] they’re not even necessary to have, especially if you’re just getting started,” Johnson Darkoh said. Instead, start by registering as a freelancer or sole proprietor, updating LinkedIn to clearly signal availability, and establishing a system for tracking invoices and expenses.
Read: How to get started as a global development consultant (Career)
Related: How to succeed as a development consultant — if you’re really trying (Career)
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Trump has announced a suspension of migration from “third-world countries” following a shooting attack on two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. [BBC]
The Asian Development Bank approves $846 million loan to help boost India’s workforce in the manufacturing and emerging technology sectors. [The Economic Times]
Brazil approves first single-dose dengue vaccine, which has 91.6% efficacy against severe dengue in clinical trials. [NDTV]
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