Devex Pro Insider: USAID's week from hell

Whew. What a week. President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday threw U.S. foreign assistance into turmoil. Not only did he announce the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement — moves that had been widely anticipated — but he also unveiled an unexpected 90-day pause on aid, backed up by a global stop-work order for USAID and State Department employees working on existing aid grants and contracts, pending a review. He also threatened "disciplinary action" for all federal staff working on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, or DEIA. Following the announcements, we saw unprecedented levels of interest during a Devex Pro event last week on how Trump might reshape U.S. aid in his first 100 days. Lots of you asked us to run more of these events as we get further into the Trump administration — and we will, helping you to parse the orders, policies, and information that are emerging. You can catch up on the full event recording here. Bear in mind that it took place before the global stop-work order was issued. Coming up: It’s not all about the U.S. Join us this week for a review of the U.K. Labour government’s record on aid and global development six months into its term, and a look at what to expect from this major donor in the coming year (and, OK, as part of that, we might also consider how the U.K. will respond to what’s happening in the U.S.). We’ve got a stellar panel, including veteran U.K. aid official Myles Wickstead and former head of the U.K. aid watchdog Tamsyn Barton, who will be taking questions from the audience. Also in today’s edition: Trump’s diversity and inclusion crackdown hits USAID, while his executive orders put philanthropists in the spotlight. Plus, we look at $2 billion worth of grants from MacKenzie Scott. Bits and pieces Gray zone. Sticking with Trump for a minute, we’ve also had some appointment news since last week. Jason Gray, the chief information officer at USAID, was tapped to take charge of the agency on an acting basis until a permanent administrator is appointed. A CIO typically manages IT and digital operations for an agency, and it’s an unusual choice for acting administrator — although a similar choice was made at another federal agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During the Pro event, David Berteau, president and CEO at the Professional Services Council, said he couldn’t remember a previous case of a CIO stepping into such a role at any agency, and that the reasoning couldn’t be known for now. But he did note that data and digital modernization and integration seem to be a focus for the new administration, which could be relevant. Whatever the reason, Gray wasted no time in communicating with the agency’s staffers — sending an email warning them not to try to “obscure the connection” between any project, contract, or position with “DEIA or similar ideologies.” Failure to snitch on any colleagues doing so may result in “disciplinary action,” he added. Year of the philanthropist? With government donors pulling back from multilateral institutions, it looks like philanthropists are going to become increasingly central to keeping those institutions running this year. I’ve previously reported in this newsletter the unusual situation with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s forthcoming high-level replenishment, which is being co-hosted by the Gates Foundation for the first time. Now, with the U.S. withdrawal from WHO, the Gates Foundation looks set to become the U.N. health agency’s biggest donor. Meanwhile, Bloomberg Philanthropies said it would help cover the funding gap left by the U.S. withdrawal from UNFCCC (aka the U.N. climate change convention). On the one hand, it’s great that philanthropists are stepping up where governments are falling short. On the other hand, it leaves multilateral institutions in a pretty uncomfortable situation. Jeremy Youde, an expert in global health politics currently at Portland State University, said this kind of support is helpful in the short term, to “help multilateral organizations keep their budgets relatively stable and buy them some more time to make necessary adjustments.” But it’s unlikely to be sustainable in the long term, he said. “There's also a fundamental question about the relationship between philanthropy and multilateral organizations,” he added. “What does it mean for accountability, legitimacy, and the organization’s agenda if the Gates Foundation or Bloomberg Philanthropies is the largest donor but isn't technically a member of the organization? I'd much rather see this sort of wealth going to support UNFCCC or WHO than buying a private island or a megayacht, but philanthropy for multilateral organizations is more of a Band-Aid than a solution.” What do you think? Let me know by replying to this email. Great Scott! Speaking of philanthropists, my colleague Miguel Antonio Tamonan has been digging into the $2 billion that MacKenzie Scott spent on grants last year. The vast majority of Scott’s support is still going to U.S.-focused organizations. But at least $94 million — and likely significantly more, since the records are incomplete — went to organizations outside the U.S. In fact, one organization alone received a whopping $30 million: MapBiomas, an initiative that tracks changes in Brazil’s land areas. That was followed by GRID Alternatives, which focuses on clean energy in the U.S., Nepal, Nicaragua, and Mexico. It received $15 million. When Scott first started handing out billions of dollars worth of grants with no strings attached, she was criticized for a lack of transparency. So, she launched a website where her grants are listed, which is what made this analysis possible. Nonetheless, the size of the grant is disclosed at the grantee’s discretion so there’s still a significant amount of money we can’t account for here. Of 34 international recipients, only 18 provided complete information. Read the full analysis. Robot city. When the World Economic Forum hits up Davos, the town’s promenade is usually covered in signs promoting the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals or bearing language around sustainability. But all that disappeared this year, according to my colleagues who are now on their way back from the annual meeting in the Swiss Alps. Instead, the messaging when you walked through the town center was all about AI, automation, and augmenting human intelligence. Robots could also be seen walking the promenade. That makes sense in part, because the meeting’s theme this year was “collaboration for the intelligent age,” whereas previous themes have been more geopolitical — “rebuilding trust” in 2024 and “cooperation in a fragmented world” in 2023. Nonetheless, there was plenty to cover in the global development space — my colleague Elissa Miolene will be bringing you a wrap-up newsletter this week. + Not subscribed to Devex Newswire yet? Sign up to this newsletter for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development, delivered to your inbox daily. ✉️ Do you have insights into any of this week’s bits and pieces? Let me know by replying to this email. In memoriam In the same week that Donald Trump was expected to implement an expanded version of the anti-abortion Mexico City Policy, also known as the global gap rule, the U.S. lost one of its most tenacious abortion campaigners. Cecile Richards was president of Planned Parenthood from 2006 to 2018 and died last week at the age of 67, following a cancer diagnosis. She had received the Presidential Medal of Freedom just two months earlier. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the largest provider of reproductive health care and sex education in the U.S. and also has an international arm that partners with local organizations to help them provide information, services, and advocacy within their communities. Richards was also a longtime board member of the Ford Foundation, whose president Darren Walker remembered her as “a righteous troublemaker for good and justice.” Moving on Veteran Brazilian diplomat André Aranha Corrêa do Lago has been appointed president of COP30 — this year’s U.N. climate conference — while the government’s climate change secretary Ana Toni will serve as executive director. Several new members were sworn in to the U.S. President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS last week, including Jirair Ratevosian, a former acting chief of staff at PEPFAR, and Catherine Brown, executive director of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Trump dismissed the entire council last time he was in power and it remained empty for 15 months before being restaffed. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development named Gianpiero Nacci as its new climate chief. Ahmad Alhendawi is the new regional director for Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe at Save the Children International. He was most recently secretary-general of the World Organization of the Scout Movement but has also held senior positions at the U.N. ODI Global has a new director for its U.S. office in Elizabeth Campbell, former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department. Elyse Drum has left the Woodrow Wilson Center, where she serves as deputy chief of staff for its president, former USAID Administrator Mark Green. Drum has worked as chief of staff or executive assistant to Green for more than a decade, but says it’s time to move on to spend more time with friends and family. Kimberly Abbott started as chief communications officer at Women Moving Millions, a community of female philanthropists. Alfredo Espinosa, the longtime director of development operations at Vital Strategies, has joined anti-poverty nonprofit Trickle Up as vice president of business development. Did we miss one? Is there a change on the horizon? Let us know at devexpro@devex.com. Up next African energy. There’s not a lot on this week, but there is one big event to watch: the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit, which is co-hosted by the African Development Bank, World Bank, African Union, and the government of Tanzania. It’s bringing together heads of state and government with development partners to work on the AfDB and World Bank’s ambitious new target of providing energy access to 300 million people across Africa by 2030. You can read more about what to expect at the summit in the Devex Newswire. My colleague Ayenat Mersie will be there and will be bringing you all the news and views. Jan. 27-28. 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: • Director, Ethics and Compliance, Corus International (United States, remote). • Country Director for Nepal, ChildFund Japan (Nepal). • Global Safety & Security (Sr.) Manager, Innovations for Poverty Action (remote). • Regional Director, International Rice Research Institute (Kenya). Check out more opportunities here, and use the filters to find your perfect fit.