Devex Pro Insider: The next UN chief, and Naomi Campbell’s charity ban

Well, that’s a wrap on UNGA 79. (At least, almost — technically the final day is tomorrow). A lot happened, from a declaration on antimicrobial resistance to the adoption of the Pact of the Future thanks to an intervention by the Republic of Congo. Catch up on all our coverage from UNGA 79. Meanwhile, a collection of civil society organizations launched the 1 for 8 Billion campaign, calling for a fair and inclusive process to select the next U.N. secretary-general in 2026. They want the selection to be more transparent and meritocratic (there has been significant improvement in recent years, thanks in great part to campaigns like this). But they also specifically want something else. “After 80 years of men-only leadership it’s time for a woman to serve as UN Secretary-General,” they say, calling on member states to only nominate female candidates in order to give the U.N. Security Council — which really holds the keys to the office — no other option. It’s a debate that’s been going on for some time and the momentum feels stronger than ever. Despite the assembly and wider institution’s supposed commitment to gender equality, even current U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called out issues last week. “I am sorry to see that despite years of talk, gender inequality is on full display at the #UNGA General Debate,” he posted on social media platform X. “Less than 10% of speakers this week are women. This is unacceptable – especially when we know gender equality delivers for peace, climate action and much more.” Expect this to be a running theme as the process of selecting the next U.N. chief picks up pace. Coming up: As the mpox outbreak continues to escalate, we’re giving Devex Pro members a rare opportunity to hear from some of the officials and experts on the front line of the response. Join us on Oct. 3 for direct insights into how the response is playing out and what happens next, from speakers including Dr. Abdou Salam Gueye, WHO’s regional emergency director, Dr. David Munganga, who’s currently working in the DRC with the NGO ALIMA, and Rashidatu Kamara, WHO’s case management lead for the outbreak. Don’t miss it. Also in today’s edition: Insights from the U.K. Labour Party conference, a project that claims to be the most ambitious in development right now, and a 90s supermodel faces a charity ban. Jessica Abrahams Editor, Devex Pro Bits and pieces Power on. There’s a new accelerator in town! And this one is aimed at accelerating the World Bank and African Development Bank’s effort to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030. With help from their friends at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Sustainable Energy for All, and the Rockefeller Foundation, the Mission 300, or M300, Accelerator will support that effort, including through a new technical assistance facility ($10 million worth of projects have already been approved), a leadership group, and energy compacts with 11 countries that will be signed at a heads of state summit in Tanzania in January. The announcement also solves a little mystery for Weekender readers, who might remember the news from a few weeks ago that Andy Herscowitz was leaving the think tank ODI after only a year of heading up their new U.S. operation. Now we know why: The former Power Africa chief has popped as CEO of the M300 venture, hosted by Rockefeller Catalytic Capital. When my colleague Adva Saldinger caught up with him in New York last week, he billed M300 as “probably the biggest thing that’s happening in international development right now, in terms of what its ambition is,” pointing out that “in the first decade of Power Africa … we helped through partnership 200 million Africans get access to electricity … We’re now looking at trying to do 300 million more in just five years.” You can listen to their full conversation here. Silent agreement? The big event in the U.K. last week was the Labour Party conference, the annual meeting of what is now the ruling party. Sadly, anyone committed enough to trail development minister Anneliese Dodds around for the week learned little about her policy plans, as my colleague Rob Merrick found out the hard way. But she did appear to quietly wink her support to aid organizations fighting looming cuts. There are warnings that the U.K. aid budget is about to fall to a 17-year low unless there’s an emergency bailout in October’s budget, a decision that will be made by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. And while it would be unwise for any minister to lobby publicly for special favors, it was striking that when Romilly Greenhill — CEO of British NGO network Bond — used their reception to emphasize that the grim scenario of further aid cuts could still be averted, Dodds responded: “I would underline everything Romilly said.” It certainly sounded like the message would be taken back to the Treasury. It wasn’t me. Here’s an unexpected story. Nineties supermodel Naomi Campbell has been banned by the U.K. regulator from serving as a charity trustee for five years after Save the Children complained it had failed to receive funds raised for it by Campbell’s charity, Fashion for Relief. An investigation uncovered evidence of financial misconduct at the grantmaker and revealed that less than 10% of the money raised from star-studded fashion events it held was passed on to its charity partners. Among the unreasonable expenses uncovered by the inquiry was a trip Campbell took to Cannes in 2018 to attend an event in the charity’s name, where she apparently ran up a bill of €9,000 on luxury accommodation and nearly €8,000 more on costs including spa treatments, room service, and cigarettes. As the report was published on Thursday, Campbell was in Paris being made a knight in France's Order of Arts and Letters. She said she was “not in control” of the charity she founded, having handed control to “a legal employer.” She added that she was "extremely concerned" by the findings and was undertaking an investigation of her own. Fashion for Relief has been deregistered as a charity, with two other trustees also receiving bans. ✉️ Do you have insights into any of this week’s bits and pieces? Let me know by replying to this email. In memoriam Tributes poured in for Amadou Mahtar M'Bow, director-general of UNESCO from 1974 to 1987, after news of his death was reported last week. The Senegalese politician was the first African to lead an international organization and a strong advocate for improving representation from the global south at senior levels of the U.N., as I wrote in this newsletter earlier in the year. During his time at UNESCO, he also championed collective decision-making and the independence of international civil servants. “Amadou Mahtar M'Bow left a lasting impression on our institution by forcefully defending the need for solidarity and equal dignity between peoples and cultures,” said current UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. Moving on The U.K. government has revived the role of special envoy on climate and hired Rachel Kyte — former climate chief at the World Bank, now a professor at Oxford — for the role. If you’re interested in hearing from her, she’ll be speaking at Devex World on Oct. 24. Aurélia Nguyen, previously chief program officer at vaccine alliance Gavi, is now deputy CEO of CEPI. After a decade as president and CEO of global development nonprofit IREX, Kristin Lord has announced that she will step down from the role in May 2025. The search is underway for her replacement. Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen, who currently leads the Office of Development Policy at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, has been appointed CEO at GSG Impact, which works on the transformation of financial systems for impact investing. Another appointment for Seth Berkley! Since stepping down as CEO of Gavi, Berkley has carved out a portfolio career with a string of trusteeships and advisory roles. Now, along with Arup Chakraborty and Ashish Jha, he has joined the board of Apriori Bio, which is building an AI platform to support vaccine development. San Bilal has been promoted to director of ECDPM. Did we miss one? Is there a change on the horizon? Let us know at devexpro@devex.com. Up next NDCs in Asia. The NDC 3.0 Regional Forum in Bangkok this week is a chance for government officials from across the Asian continent to come together and discuss the next round of nationally determined contributions, i.e., what countries are willing to commit to doing in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement. Sept. 30-Oct. 2. AIIB. If you’re interested in the future of multilateral development banks, this could be an event worth watching. ODI will be speaking with the outgoing president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Jin Liqun, to discuss the role of MDBs in the age of the “polycrisis” and AIIB’s position in the wider MDB landscape. Oct. 1. Human Development Report. The World Bank and U.N. Development Programme will be presenting and discussing the latest “Human Development Report.” The theme of both the 2024 report and this event is “Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World.” Oct. 1. UK aid. While last week was the U.K. Labour Party conference, this week it’s the turn of the Conservative Party in Birmingham. Now in opposition after 14 years in power, there’ll be less of immediate interest here for the aid sector, but the party conferences always come with a host of interesting side events. Among them, Chatham House and UNICEF will hold a joint event on “Navigating Britain’s role in the development landscape,” with former development minister Andrew Mitchell and UNICEF UK CEO Philip Goodwin — although unfortunately, you’ll only be able to attend if you have access to the secure zone. Back in London on the same day, they’re also hosting a members-only event with former U.N. relief chief Martin Griffiths. Oct. 1. Jobs of the week Your Devex Pro membership includes access to the world’s largest global development job board. Here are some of the latest high-level opportunities: - Lead Corporate, Country, and Thematic Evaluation Specialist, Saudi Arabia with the Islamic Development Bank. - Country Director, Nairobi with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. - Landscape Director, Bili Mbomu Conservation Area with the African Wildlife Foundation. - Manager, External Affairs with the TB Alliance. Explore more high-level openings.