Devex Pro Insider: Words matter, so should it be foreign aid or f...ing aid?

As a journalist, a fundamental rule is to get to the point. Keep it simple. No big fancy words that go over people’s heads. As my British colleague loves to say: “If the man on the top of the bus can’t understand it, you’ve lost the reader.” So here at Devex, we often use the term “foreign aid.” It’s what clicks for people inside and outside the development bubble. Jamie Drummond adamantly disagrees with us — preferring to call it f…ing aid (I’ll leave the dots for you to figure out). An icon in our sector — or “industry” as some prefer to label it — Drummond was a cofounder of ONE with Bono and is the brainchild behind Sharing Strategies. He’s considered how we talk about aid a lot — in part because it can mean the difference between winning people over, or alienating them. Most of us agree that words matter. And many of us agree that development is laden with technical, insider mumbo-jumbo that would confuse the man on that bus. But finding a common vernacular is where the agreement stops and the debate begins. Should it be global north and south, or global minority and majority? Is it an “informal settlement” or a “slum?” That caused some consternation in our newsroom years ago. Were we denigrating where people lived, or sugarcoating it? So what’s Drummond’s solution? Beyond colorfully criticizing foreign aid, he wants more nuance and specificity, arguing that the term is bad for two reasons. “The first bad thing is that it is about foreigners, and it just feels pejorative,” he said during a recent Devex Pro Briefing. “And secondly, it’s a giveaway that has no sense of what’s in it for the giver, whether that be a reflection of their values or whether that be reflection of some other sense of a return on the investment. And so you put those two things together, ‘foreign’ and ‘aid,’ you have a very uphill struggle.” “And always, there is a better, more specific phrase,” he added. So what are some of his alternatives? “Lifesaving humanitarian aid” is one, he said. They are “very specific programs with highly proven, cost-effective inputs and outcomes that are also extraordinarily inspiring international partnerships.” So, for instance, if you’re talking about official development assistance, “you can talk about ‘international public investment.’ That sounds clunky, but push for it. Or least bad [is] ‘international aid.’” But isn’t some of this semantics? Conversely, if you start drilling down into greater specificity, aren’t you just inviting the kind of in-the-weeds jargon that elicits eye-rolling? More importantly, would any amount of persuasive language have convinced die-hard aid skeptics such as Donald Trump and Elon Musk to spare USAID? Doubtful, in my opinion — but that’s why the war over words isn’t likely to end any time soon. Also in today’s edition: Buffett puts the gas pedal on giving away his billions, and the U.S. warns about bears in Japan. Bits and pieces The people doth protest too much, methink. If foreign aid — sorry, Jamie, I’m going to use it for now — has a messaging problem, some are trying to liven up that messaging with humor to show that aid has actually accomplished quite a bit. Check out this video of U.K. protesters on a bus chanting: “What is aid good for? Absolutely nothing!” — only to start listing the things it is good for. Among them: education, clean water and sanitation, vaccinating millions of children, nearly eradicating polio, creating financial growth, diminishing terrorism, bringing peace and democracy, and helping in natural disasters. Needless to say, the protesters had to slightly adjust their banners with some caveats before demonstrating in front of Parliament. Note of thanks. Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffett isn’t letting age — he’s 95 — slow down his giving. In a personal Thanksgiving letter, he reminisced about his long life while outlining plans for after he passes. That includes speeding up the giving of much of his nearly $150 billion personal fortune to his three children’s philanthropic foundations. He did, however, note that he intends to keep a significant amount of shares in Berkshire Hathaway for a short window until shareholders gain confidence in Greg Abel, his designated successor as CEO. “That level of confidence shouldn’t take long. My children are already 100% behind Greg as are the Berkshire directors,” he wrote. He also praised his children who “now have the maturity, brains, energy and instincts to disburse a large fortune. They will also have the advantage of being above ground when I am long gone and, if necessary, can adopt policies both anticipatory and reactive to federal tax policies or other developments affecting philanthropy. They may well need to adapt to a significantly changing world around them. Ruling from the grave does not have a great record, and I have never had an urge to do so.” He ends with some sage advice: “Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless.” Weathering the cuts. The U.S. State Department is touting its response to Hurricane Melissa as proof that it can still help others — without the support of USAID. It said the United States has provided nearly $37 million to date in emergency, lifesaving assistance and on-the-ground support throughout the Caribbean, including over $22 million to Jamaica, $11 million for Haiti, $3 million for Cuba, and $500,000 for the Bahamas. One of the State Department’s senior officials told ABC News that the response was “successful” and highlighted how effective the Trump administration’s new foreign assistance approach had been. That model entails the State Department handing over authority to regional bureaus to take the lead in disaster response efforts, while streamlining those efforts under a task force that operates at the department instead of at a separate, outside agency that is otherwise “disconnected from broader foreign policy aims.” Grizzly warning. The State Department has apparently been busy trying to protect people — not just from the weather, but from … bears in Japan. The U.S. Embassy there issued a wildlife alert saying that “bear sightings and attacks have increased in parts of Japan, especially in municipalities close to or adjacent to populated zones.” As CNN reported, at least 13 people have been killed and more than 100 injured since April — some of the highest numbers since records began in 2006. Direct from Frankfurt. The U.S.-based charity Direct Relief, one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, has opened a new European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, to “enhance its ability to deliver essential medical resources to communities facing urgent health challenges,” according to its announcement. “Establishing a presence in Europe enables greater collaboration and helps ensure that critical medical resources reach the people and places that need them most—quickly and reliably,” said Amy Weaver, the nonprofit’s CEO. Over the past decade, Direct Relief has delivered more than $16 billion in medical aid throughout Europe and around the world, and roughly a quarter of the medicines the charity delivers worldwide originate in Europe. Healthy handover. The African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization, or AMRH, report — 16 years in the making — was officially handed off to Dr. Delese Mimi Darko, the newly appointed director-general of the African Medicines Agency, at a conference last week. The handover marks the AMA’s official role as AMRH’s institutional and legal successor. “This symbolic moment concluded one of the continent’s most influential public health initiatives. The AMRH programme was established in 2009 to reduce fragmentation by harmonising regulatory systems in order to accelerate access to safe and quality-assured medical products across Africa,” wrote Lenias Hwenda, founder and CEO of Medicines for Africa, in a LinkedIn post. “Yet, as with all programmes, AMRH was designed to have an endpoint. Its mission was to prepare the ground for something more enduring,” she added, citing AMA as an “institution that would anchor its achievements and ensure continuity for generations to come. Pivotal gift. PAI, a U.S.-based NGO with 60 years of experience in global sexual and reproductive health and rights, is a grant recipient of Action for Women’s Health. This $250 million global open call was managed by Lever for Change and funded by Pivotal — founded by Melinda French Gates to advance social progress and expand women’s power and influence. “This generous grant from Action for Women’s Health comes at a sobering and urgent time for our movement,” said Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, president and CEO of PAI, in a release. “It is a bold affirmation that reproductive freedom matters for just, equitable, and safe societies. … This grant enables PAI to protect hard-won gains in family planning and maternal health … and accelerate action so that women have the power, resources, and freedoms to make decisions about their bodies and their futures.” Moving on King’s Trust International has announced the appointment of businessman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and his wife, lawyer, banker, and philanthropist Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, as cochairs of its Africa advisory board. This leadership transition signals a strategic evolution in KTI’s mission to empower young Africans through innovative education, employability, and entrepreneurship programs. Nina Billone Prieur has joined the strategic advisory practice at Solarium Group LLC as a senior affiliate. “From the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to USAID and the White House’s Prosper Africa initiative, Nina has led some of the most dynamic communications and partnership portfolios that advance U.S. economic diplomacy,” Solarium wrote on LinkedIn. “She helped position DFC’s $50 billion investment portfolio across 110 countries, guided strategy for USAID’s $2.5 billion Southern Africa regional program, and built Prosper Africa’s engagement platform from the ground up—catalyzing $15.7 billion in new commercial commitments between the U.S. and African private sectors.” Marcia Wong is now a senior adviser for the Private Sector Humanitarian Alliance. “Growing needs require early, creative and concrete collaboration and actions - with eyes on advancing local action/local impact,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “We can do this.” Up next The G20 Leaders’ Summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Nov. 22 and 23. My colleague Elissa Miolene will be there. If you’re attending, drop her a line at elissa.miolene@devex.com. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will hold its eighth replenishment summit on Nov. 21. The replenishment — hosted by South Africa and the U.K. — will be held in a hybrid format on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The 2025 Africa Health and Development Annual Research Symposium will be held on Nov. 19-20 in Kenya, under the theme “Decolonizing global health in the age of digital transformation: Rethinking aid and partnerships as Africa leads its future.” My colleague Sara Jerving will be on the ground. If you’ll also be there, message her at sara.jerving@devex.com. The Global Health Supply Chain Summit will take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from Nov. 18 to 20. The World Conference on Lung Health is scheduled to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from Nov. 18 to 21. 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