Devex Newswire: Malpass departs, but not without some parting words

David Malpass is on his way out as World Bank president today, but he didn’t leave without having an exit interview with us. Also in today’s edition: Uganda stands to lose billions of dollars thanks to its attacks on gay people, and a small family foundation from New Jersey makes an outsize impact in sub-Saharan Africa. + Join us for a Twitter Space tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET (4 p.m. CET) to discuss the expectations and challenges facing Ajay Banga as he starts his World Bank presidency. Set your reminder. Swan song Today is David Malpass’ last day as World Bank president. My colleague Shabtai Gold reports that before he left, staff prepared a surprise for him: a booklet of about 110 pages with photographs of him with employees over the years. Many left handwritten notes, full pages in length, singing his praises. Of course, not everyone has sung his praises over the last four years, especially after his climate gaffe — in which he questioned whether humans caused global warming — that became an albatross around his neck. But as Malpass, who’s been open with the media despite the flak he got for his flub, likes to always point out, spending on green projects doubled under his watch. Ever the economist, he rattled off various statistics in his exit interview with Shabtai, saying he adhered to the old campsite rule of leaving the place in better shape than when he arrived. “It’s true of staff morale, it’s true of financial structure,” he says. “The balance sheet and income statement are in good shape.” What’s not in good shape? The debt loads of low-income countries — the one thing he wishes he could’ve changed. That’s why he says the anti-poverty lender must “leave no stone unturned” in its ongoing reforms, which he insists must result in tangible gains for borrowing countries. And that's his message to Ajay Banga, who starts on Friday: “Push hard for good outcomes.” Interview: Nothing off limits on World Bank reforms, Malpass says + For more insider brief on development finance, sign up for Devex Invested, our free, Tuesday newsletter on business, finance, and the SDGs. Financial fallout The uproar over Uganda’s widely condemned anti-homosexuality law continues as two major institutions consider yanking billions of dollars in aid to a country where being gay could be a death sentence. The World Bank and USAID are now rethinking their assistance to the East African country, whose longtime president, Yoweri Museveni, signed a law last Friday that could lead to the death penalty for people found guilty of "aggravated homosexuality," defined as same-sex acts involving people living with HIV or minors, among others. “We are reviewing our portfolio of projects and next steps,” outgoing World Bank President David Malpass exclusively told Shabtai, adding that the new law is an “affront to the values of the World Bank.” Meanwhile, my colleague Omar Mohammed reports that USAID Administrator Samantha Power described the law as “an unconscionable attack on an already marginalized group” and that it jeopardizes the agency’s assistance to Uganda — currently one of the largest recipients of funding from USAID. The law could also endanger funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. President Joe Biden has said he asked his National Security Council to assess the law’s consequences on all aspects of U.S. engagement with the country, including trade, meaning that Uganda’s draconian stance on homosexuality could be an incredibly costly one. Read: World Bank, USAID aid billions for Uganda jeopardized by anti-gay law Also read: Uganda's new anti-LGBTQ law could make PEPFAR's work 'illegal' A modest family Yes, you’ve heard of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Yes, you’ve heard about Bloomberg Philanthropies. But have you heard of the small New Jersey-based family foundation that boasts deep ties to sub-Saharan Africa and embraces a hands-off approach to giving? Many people haven’t, but the Segal Family Foundation occupies a unique niche in the world of philanthropy, my colleague Stephanie Beasley writes. Though its grants are relatively small, Segal doles out a lot of them. It trails only the Gates Foundation in the number of grants given to sub-Saharan Africa. That’s especially notable considering that Segal employs only about 20 people compared to nearly 2,000 at the Gates Foundation. And the fact that all of Segal’s program officers are African means they actually practice localization, instead of just preaching it, while its laissez-faire attitude means it’s an appealing prospect for grantees. “Unrestricted is unrestricted. People can use it to throw lavish holiday parties, for all I care,” the foundation’s Executive Director Andy Bryant tells Stephanie. Don’t worry, the foundation still does its due diligence, but that trust has earned it many admirers. “I feel like there is a lot of respect,” says Peter Kwame, co-founder and director of a Kenyan nonprofit that provides scholarships to children living in poverty and has been receiving grant funding from the Segal Family Foundation since 2013. “And it feels like you are talking to a partner.” Read: How the Segal Family Foundation became a top funder in Africa (Pro) + Start your 15-day free trial of Devex Pro today to access the piece and all our exclusive reporting and analysis. On second thought … Hindsight is always 20/20, but when you scrap a conflict prevention program in a country that then breaks out into a conflict, it’s probably good to look back and figure out if that was a wise decision. The United Kingdom is now asking itself if its decision to stop working with civil society groups in Sudan — as part of steep cuts to the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund — meant it was caught off guard by the outbreak of civil war in April. “It was quite frankly shocking that the minister responsible for this key fund seemed unaware of its strategic importance, or the devastating impact the cuts were directly having on global security,” Sarah Champion, the Labour chair of the Commons International Development Committee, tells my colleague Rob Merrick. At a parliamentary hearing, Lucy Neville-Rolfe, the minister responsible for CSSF, confessed: “I do not think we have done any recent reappraisal.” She then added: “In light of what has happened in Sudan, it would be good to look back at that as part of our work this year, so thank you for raising it.” You’re welcome? Read: UK agrees to review if aid cuts left it 'off guard' in Sudan ICYMI: Experts link UK aid cuts to crisis in Sudan at parliamentary hearing The not-so-final frontier That Star Trek mantra still comes to mind whenever I hear the word “space” — it’s the final frontier. Except it’s not final – for many low- and middle-income countries, it could be the start of a profitable new venture, my colleague Catherine Cheney writes. Many governments assume space exploration involves fancy rockets with little return on investment. But space can mean satellites that not only underpin daily life, from navigation to telecommunications, but that also help propel the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, from gathering data on vaccination campaigns to helping farmers make smarter decisions about planting their crops. That’s why Rose Croshier, the author of a new handbook on space development, thinks every country should have some kind of space capability to pursue their national interests. “Sometimes as space enthusiasts, we shoot ourselves in the foot, roll out beautiful slides, glossy pictures of all the stuff space can do,” she says. “But it becomes overwhelming, or too unreal, or impossible to do without a major lift. We have to make it more normal, more grounded to local issues for success.” Read: How nations can harness the power of space to improve life on Earth ICYMI: How a NASA-backed scientist uses satellites to help African farmers In other news A Sudanese doctor was apprehended by armed plainclothes officers in Sudan after speaking out against the army's diversion of a World Health Organization aid shipment intended for a hospital. [The Guardian] Despite facing criticism from the Zimbabwean government regarding the alleged illegal activism of a U.S. diplomat, a representative from USAID reaffirmed the organization's commitment to providing assistance to the people of Zimbabwe. [VOA] United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joins European leaders at a summit in Moldova, hoping to tackle irregular migration and stem the flow of migrants and asylum-seekers across Europe. [Financial Times] Sign up to Newswire for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development.