Devex Pro Insider: Uganda, Nepal, Botswana — 3 crises, 1 warning

Across Uganda, Nepal, and Botswana, wildly different crises are telling the same story: When U.S. foreign assistance gets yanked overnight, the systems built around it don’t just strain — they snap. And the people left to cope aren’t policymakers or diplomats; they’re first-time voters, scared parents, and community health workers who used to keep whole neighborhoods afloat. In Uganda, 18-year-old Ronald Serunjoji is thrilled to vote for the first time in 2026 — he just doesn’t know there are other races on the ballot besides the presidential contest. He’s hardly alone. Years of shrinking civic space and the near-total halt of U.S.-funded voter education have left huge blinders. Radio spots, community meetings, and watchdog groups vanished after cuts that ended almost 70% of democracy, human rights, governance, and peacebuilding programs. What’s left, said David Kizito, program officer at the Ugandan chapter of Transparency International, is “a widening gap in basic knowledge of voter rights.” And when projects such as Ugandans for Peace Activity ended because of cuts that were “abrupt and unfair,” Francis Opio of the Kabalore Research and Resource Centre said entire districts lost their most trusted guides. Nepal’s story echoes the same pattern. Families like Genmati Kahar’s are now facing malnutrition without the integrated network that once caught cases early. “Children are dying before our eyes,” warned nutrition facilitator Prithipal Teli, as health posts run out of therapeutic foods, trained staff, and even basic screening tools. “These resources, which previously saved many children from severe malnutrition, are now unavailable,” added health coordinator Shankar Bhattarai. Nearly two decades of progress — and the trust that underpinned it — are suddenly at risk. As Lila Bikram Thapa, chief of the nutrition section at Nepal’s Department of Health Services, put it: “Accepting this reality is very difficult.” And in Botswana, a quiet HIV-prevention success story is slipping through the cracks. Thatayaone Rampe, who once worked for the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships recruiting men for voluntary medical male circumcision, lost his job when PEPFAR funding disappeared. “It might continue, but minimally,” said ACHAP CEO Khumo Seipone, as VMMC services plunged by 88%. Circumcision was once a big breakthrough — “the first real intervention that was enticing,” said Jason Reed, who helped build PEPFAR’s VMMC program. But after drastic funding cuts and Trump’s labeling of VMMC funding as “waste,” the outreach that made it work evaporated. Rampe still gets calls from men with questions, but without pay, he can’t escort them to clinics. “When there's no outreach,” he said, “it will be difficult because they need to be encouraged.” Three countries, three crises, one theme: When the funding stops, so does the scaffolding beneath entire communities. And rebuilding trust, capacity, and momentum is far slower than the speed at which a single budget line can disappear. Click on the links to read the full stories, which are part of The Aid Report, a Gates Foundation-funded, editorially independent project documenting the real-life repercussions of U.S. aid cuts. Also in today’s edition: November 2025 was packed with big global development moments — climate talks, social progress summits, and plenty of debate on inclusive growth. Think you kept up? Test yourself with our quiz! Bits and pieces China’s hidden ledger. China’s overseas lending has long been a black box, but AidData cracks it open. In a new report titled “Chasing China: Learning to Play by Beijing's Global Lending Rules,” the authors sifted through 30,000 projects across 217 countries — $2.2 trillion from 1,193 official sector donors and lenders — and found that China’s overseas lending portfolio is vastly larger than previously understood. And it’s not just the low- and middle-income countries on the receiving end. China has poured loans into high-income countries, including the U.S., revealing that Beijing’s footprint now spans the entire global economy. The Belt and Road initiative, according to the report, is only 20% of the story. The real shock is the shift toward wealthier nations: Lending to high-income and upper-middle-income countries has surged from 12% to 76%, with Chinese state-owned creditors bankrolling roughly 10,000 projects in 72 high-income countries. That’s nearly $1 trillion. The art of the Dell. Michael and Susan Dell just made a headline-grabbing move in philanthropy: They’re putting $250 into investment accounts for 25 million kids, a $6.25 billion boost to the new “Trump accounts.” The administration is already planning to give $1,000 to babies born from 2025 to 2028, and the Dells are widening the opportunity to children up to age 10 in ZIP codes under the $150,000 median-income line. The Dells said they want others to join the effort, from major companies to local governments. “This is a slightly different way of doing this,” Susan Dell said, “but the opportunity now is to do something really major and really touch 25 million children.” Employers can contribute too, and some — including Dell Technologies — will match the federal $1,000 for newborns. And while the U.S. Treasury is still figuring out the mechanics, the mission is bigger than paperwork. As Michael Dell put it: “We believe that if every child can see a future worth saving for … we will have built something far greater than an account.” Going ALL IN. A new initiative — ALL IN: Global Leaders for Ending Gender-Based Violence — has launched, aiming to drive political commitment and sustained investment to prevent violence against women and girls. It is co-led by the Ford Foundation, Wellspring Philanthropic Foundation, and the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, with Equality Institute serving as the secretariat. The effort brings together figures — including Graça Machel, who advocates for women and children’s rights; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia; Dr. Denis Mukwege, Congolese gynecologist, human rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate; Tarana Burke, who started the Me Too movement; and María Fernanda Espinosa, president of the 73rd U.N. General Assembly — to push for bold, coordinated action. With more than 1 billion women and girls experiencing violence — a $1.5 trillion annual hit to the global economy — the coalition argues that solutions already exist but remain underused. As Mukwege said, “It’s not just perpetrators … who are responsible … it is also those who choose to look the other way.” Full financial circle. Circle — which uses digital tools to expand access to financial services for people and organizations worldwide — has launched the Circle Foundation, a new philanthropic initiative focused on advancing financial resilience and inclusion in the U.S. and globally. Led by founding chair Elisabeth Carpenter, the foundation will be powered by Circle’s pledge to offer a 1% equity commitment to support organizations working to strengthen everyday financial systems and expand economic access. The goal: build lasting pathways to stability and opportunity for communities around the world. Helping the PSCs. The U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation’s staff is rallying after the government shutdown — and this time the focus is on colleagues who took the biggest hit. The MCC staff union has launched a fundraising drive for its personal services contractors, or PSCs, who “do much the same work as [permanent] employees,” Steven Anderson, lead economist at MCC, wrote on his LinkedIn page. But, unlike federal staff, they won’t receive back pay for the shutdown period. Anyone can chip in until Dec. 10, Anderson wrote, and the union will send out gifts to PSCs who’ve opted in during the week of Dec. 15. If the numbers don’t add up — insufficient funds or recipients — “the Union will refund the donors.” It’s a small way MCC staff members are looking out for their teammates who kept everything going — even when the paychecks didn’t. A boost for giving. Two U.S. representatives in Congress — Republican Blake Moore and Democrat Danny Davis — are relaunching the bipartisan Congressional Philanthropy Caucus, giving lawmakers a fresh space to better understand the charitable sector, strengthen policies that support giving, and highlight how nonprofits are driving impact in communities across the country. The revival comes at a tense moment: Philanthropy has been squarely on Trump’s radar, with foundations such as Ford and advisory networks linked to Arabella Advisors facing increased political scrutiny. That backdrop makes the caucus’ focus on protecting and explaining the sector feel especially timely. Kathleen Enright, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, called the move an important boost for the sector, saying the caucus will help members of Congress “deepen their understanding of charitable foundations” and champion policies that protect and expand American generosity. As she put it: “Generosity is a core American value and unifying force that brings people together across differences to solve problems and move forward together.” Squeezed by debt. The World Bank’s new International Debt Report shows developing countries are deep underwater — paying $741 billion more on external debt than they received in new financing between 2022 and 2024. Interest rates hovered around 10%, and countries shelled out $415 billion in interest alone. Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s chief economist, warned that “developing countries should not deceive themselves: they are not out of danger,” with debt rising “in new and pernicious ways.” And while more countries are turning to local borrowing, Haishan Fu, chief statistician and director of the bank’s development data group, said it’s progress — but with limits: “Governments should be careful not to overdo it.” Rebrand, renew, rise. Project Starling just got a major glow-up. What began in 2023 as an experiment — “quiet, behind-the-scenes support,” sharper negotiation tools for low- and middle-income countries, and a push to “help multilateral institutions work better for all” — has officially become the Starling Institute. The team says the rebrand “isn't just a name change — it reflects how far we’ve come,” and signals they’re ready for a new phase at a moment when international cooperation is wobbling but also full of fresh energy and ideas. In memoriam Jo Luck, the influential 2010 World Food Prize laureate who helped transform the fight against global hunger, has died at 79. The foundation that distributes the highly coveted prize praised a leader whose work empowered millions. “Jo Luck devoted her life to empowering others, especially women and families striving to lift themselves out of poverty,” said Mashal Husain, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, calling her leadership “compassion in action.” As CEO of Heifer International, she expanded the nonprofit’s reach to more than 12 million families and championed programs that uplifted women farmers and strengthened rural communities. She will be honored at the 2026 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue. Alec Reed — entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of seven charities including Ethiopiaid, Womankind Worldwide, and Big Give — has died at 91. Described by The Times as “the man who revolutionised philanthropy,” he built Reed Global from £75 and never stopped pushing for a more equitable world. As he put it: “I believe that wealthy people have a responsibility to give and the wealthiest 1% need to be more proactive in supporting charities and making our world more equitable.” His first visit to Ethiopia in 1987 sparked a lifelong commitment that led to the creation of Ethiopiaid, built on trusting local NGOs long before it became standard practice. He traveled often, kept admin costs low, expanded Ethiopiaid internationally, and inspired partners with his “out of the box” ideas. Honored by the Ethiopian government in 2024, he still insisted he only “lit the touch paper.” Moving on Dianna Darsney de Salcedo is the new global initiatives director at the Global Food Institute at George Washington University, bringing 20 years of global food security experience to the role. She says she’ll be applying a practitioner’s lens to GFI’s research, policy innovation, and international partnerships, while helping tackle the intertwined challenges of hunger, poverty, public health, and climate change. The Inter-American Development Bank Group has tapped Graham Macmillan as the next general manager of IDB Lab, starting Jan. 5, 2026. IDB President Ilan Goldfajn said in a release that “Graham’s extensive experience will be instrumental in advancing IDB Lab’s mission.” With decades in impact investing and social enterprise, Macmillan led global philanthropy as president of the Visa Foundation and held senior roles at the Ford Foundation, Citi, and the Citi Foundation. Up next The seventh edition of the United Nations Environment Assembly — aka UNEA7 — is set for Dec. 8-12 in Nairobi. The conference is expected to tackle the environmental effects of artificial intelligence, among other issues. Inside the U.S. bilateral health agreements — Dec. 16, 9-10 a.m. ET. The U.S. State Department is negotiating bilateral health agreements under its “America First” global health strategy, prioritizing direct government partnerships over NGO-led channels. Some African and U.S. experts welcome the shift, but others fear it could weaken African governments’ collective bargaining power. Join us for this Devex Pro Briefing to discuss how talks are unfolding, what experts — Dr. Neil Buddy Shah, CEO of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and Dr. Mark Dybul, former U.S. global AIDS coordinator — are seeing on the ground, and how this approach could reshape global health. The Millennium Challenge Corporation: New strategies, new metrics, and the road ahead — Dec. 18, 10-11 a.m. ET. MCC’s model, built on good governance, country ownership, and rigorous data, has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign assistance for two decades. However, the agency is now navigating a complex landscape of new challenges and adapting after a tumultuous year. Join us as we speak to experts and former officials about the shifting currents inside MCC and what these changes mean for future compact development and the agency’s role in the next generation of U.S. foreign assistance and economic policy. Job of the week Your Devex Pro membership includes access to the world’s largest global development job board. Here’s the latest opportunity: a senior director for humanitarian advocacy. This search is being done by Devex Talent Solutions on behalf of CARE USA. Search for more opportunities now.