Geneva, once the heart of global diplomacy, is in crisis as the U.S. aid cuts wrought by the White House trigger layoffs, frozen projects, and shrinking influence. Major agencies like WHO and UNAIDS are scaling back, with warnings of deadly consequences.
Also in today’s edition: Cyprus is stepping into the race for the U.N. General Assembly presidency.
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Once the cradle of international humanitarian law, the city of Geneva is now facing an identity crisis as U.S. aid cuts under President Donald Trump batter the multilateral system it helped build.
“[The Palais des Nations] is starting to have that same smell of death,” quips BBC’s Imogen Foulks. And it’s no joke — layoffs, frozen projects, and shrinking budgets are hitting hard.
Geneva, long the diplomatic engine room of the United Nations, is reeling. The World Health Organization, UN Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, and UNAIDS are all scaling back. “We will do less with less,” said one participant at a recent closed-door summit hosted by France to assess the damage.
Historically, Geneva’s neutrality and prestige made it the go-to city for peace talks and humanitarian leadership. But now? “We are really at the end of the cycle here,” says journalist Philippe Mottaz. “I do not see the status quo coming back.”
The Trump administration’s disdain for human rights norms has accelerated the crisis, writes Devex Senior Global Reporter Colum Lynch. Agencies that once counted on U.S. cash are scrambling. UNAIDS warns of millions more AIDS deaths if funding doesn’t return. “We’ll see people die the way we saw them in the '90s,” says Winnie Byanyima, who leads the agency.
And the cuts are brutal. The International Organization for Migration already axed 3,000 jobs. UNHCR could slash 6,000. Even the famed Geneva International Motor Show — the road show that’s run since 1905 — is leaving town for Qatar. “That’s the way the global winds are blowing,” says Foulks.
Still, Geneva’s reputation might survive. “Geneva … stands for values-based multilateralism,” says one diplomat. But the U.N.’s Swiss hub is undoubtedly shrinking — and fast.
Read: Europe’s peace capital feels sting of Trump funding cuts
See also: UN appeals fall flat in face of Trump's budget steamroller
ICYMI: UN chief says US cuts make the world less healthy, safe, and prosperous
Even before USAID was unexpectedly and swiftly dismantled, official development assistance, or ODA, was in a slump. Yesterday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released numbers on global aid in 2024, revealing that ODA from major donors fell for the first time in five years. Countries on OECD’s Development Assistance Committee gave $212.1 billion — or just 0.33% of their gross national income — a 7.1% real-term drop from 2023.
“The pendulum now seems to swing more toward focusing on the immediate future and the immediate neighborhood,” says DAC chair Carsten Staur. “I would call on DAC members to sincerely reconsider and to reverse this trend.”
Aid to Ukraine dropped sharply, down 16.7% overall, with humanitarian funding to the country slashed 43%. While aid to Africa and least developed countries, or LDCs, saw much gentler declines, Staur notes that some of those countries are deeply dependent on ODA and even small drops can make a big difference.
Final 2024 data is due in December, but early signs point to a reshaped aid landscape — less long-term support, more pressure on private capital, and mounting calls to rethink how aid is governed. Now many are looking toward the U.N.’s Financing for Development conference in Seville, Spain, this summer as a chance to, as Eurodad’s Matthew Simonds puts it, “write a new future for foreign aid.”
Read: In 2024, global aid fell for the first time in five years
Related: The largest donors in 2024 — and how they spent their aid (Pro)
Background: Amid the cuts, why the OECD development chief is optimistic about aid (Pro)
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Cyprus is challenging Palestine for the 2026–2027 presidency of the U.N. General Assembly, setting up a high-stakes contest likely to strain U.S.-U.N. ties.
While usually ceremonial, the post has taken on political weight after the Arab Group nominated Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour, inviting backlash from Washington. Both Republican and Democratic U.S. administrations have long opposed full Palestinian U.N. membership, favoring a negotiated deal with Israel, writes Colum.
In April 2024, the Biden administration vetoed a Security Council bid for Palestinian statehood, though the General Assembly soon after voted 143-9 to expand Palestinian participation, allowing them to run for officer posts — including General Assembly president.
Cyprus has put forward Andreas Kakouris, a former ambassador to the U.S., but faces challenges of its own. Sympathy for the Palestinian territories is surging amid Israel’s Gaza campaign, and while Cyprus is eligible via the Asia-Pacific Group, whoever is elected will follow Germany’s term, and critics may resist back-to-back European presidencies.
Scoop: Cyprus takes on Palestine in bid for UN General Assembly presidency
ICYMI: Palestinians launch bid for UN General Assembly presidency
The World Health Organization will need to make workforce cuts as it grapples with a major funding shortfall — and experts say it needs to be a lot more transparent about how it does it.
Elaine Fletcher, editor-in-chief of Health Policy Watch and a former WHO staffer, said in a Devex Pro briefing that the agency must ensure the layoffs are strategic and merit-based. And that starts with visibility.
A transparent mapping of the organizational structure and cost of each position would be useful.
“But nobody really knows those, because WHO does not publish costs. All they publish are salaries,” Fletcher says, referring to director-level positions she estimates cost the agency $92 million a year in salaries and perks. WHO hasn’t released an updated organizational chart since 2019.
“None of us know what is the state of play right now, not member states and not staff,” she adds.
Between 2017 and 2024, WHO’s leadership ranks nearly doubled. A proposed restructure could slash its 10 divisions down to five — halving the number of top posts. It’s a chance to reduce bloat, but cuts need care. “Use a scalpel, not a hatchet,” Fletcher warns.
She also flagged another issue: Equity. WHO’s workaround for hiring limits — short-term consultants — has often favored European passport holders in Geneva. More cuts could make that worse, writes Devex Senior Reporter Jenny Lei Ravelo.
Still, Fletcher is hopeful. “I really do believe in the mission of the organization,” she says. There is “no other agency” that can set global, science-based health standards like WHO.
Read: As WHO lays off staff, why is transparency more crucial than ever? (Pro)
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Trump’s “America First” movement has eyed science with suspicion, cutting federally funded scientific research with fervor.
But that didn’t seem to dampen the optimism at the inaugural Science Week hosted by the global agricultural research network CGIAR.
The numbers are a testament to that optimism — and sense of solidarity. The event, held at the United Nations Office in Nairobi last week, drew over 8,000 people in person and another 2,000 online, with representatives from 1,000 organizations and 100 countries, my colleague Ayenat Mersie writes.
A key moment was the launch of CGIAR’s 2025–2030 research portfolio, which outlines the organization’s scientific direction over the next five years. Among the portfolio’s stated goals are reducing the number of people at risk of hunger by 182 million, lifting 31 million out of extreme poverty, and increasing the proportion of women in agrifood jobs to 63%, up from 40% in 2021.
“We have very big ambitions in this portfolio,” says Sandra Cristina Kothe Milach, CGIAR’s chief scientist. “We have always been driven by impact, but I think we're really putting that up front as the first thing that we need to look into — which are prioritized, which problems we want to focus on.”
Read: At Science Week, CGIAR presents 2030 research portfolio
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World Bank President Ajay Banga reaffirmed plans to end the bank’s ban on lending for nuclear energy, aiming for board approval in June. [Reuters]
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni heads to the U.S. to meet President Donald Trump, navigating a diplomatic tightrope as she pushes for an EU-wide “zero-for-zero” trade deal. [BBC]
The Trump administration plans to strip habitat protections for endangered species, a move environmentalists warn could drive extinctions by opening critical areas to logging, mining, and development. [AP]
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