Devex Pro Weekender: First look at the new UK aid strategy, and ‘radical’ localization

The United Kingdom is set to launch a new aid strategy tomorrow — and it feels like it’s doubling down on government cuts by focusing instead on “mobilizing” private sector money. The government will argue that aid budgets will never be able to provide enough money to stamp out extreme poverty, Devex U.K. Correspondent Rob Merrick understands. It will lean on the U.K.’s financial sector, particularly insurance companies, to fill the gap. Devex Pro members get exclusive access to Rob’s report for much more detail on what to expect from tomorrow’s announcement. Also, tomorrow the U.K. is hosting a Global Food Security Summit — although it’s not completely clear what’s going to come out of it. Beyond that, it’s a relatively quiet week ahead, in terms of scheduled events at least. The United States has its Thanksgiving holiday and many people in the global development community are gearing up for COP 28, which is now just 11 days away. Coming up: Join the next edition of our Pro Leader Roundtable series. Ahead of COP 28, you’ll have the chance to hear from a panel of climate leaders and to ask them questions about COP and climate advocacy more broadly. Reply "COP" to this email to be added to the guest list. Also in today’s edition: AI for development, “radical” localization, and why philanthropists are funding a Kendrick Lamar concert. Jessica Abrahams Editor, Devex Pro Bits and pieces USAID Palestine experts speak. Seven of USAID’s former Palestine mission directors have signed an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power, offering their view on the current conflict between Israel and Gaza. The signatories, who led USAID’s work in the West Bank and Gaza between 1994 and 2019, wrote that while “Israel has the legal and moral right to remove Hamas’ capacity to engage in further terror attacks,” it must minimize civilian deaths and “immediately allow food, water, and medicines to enter Gaza so as to ameliorate the current suffering and to prevent long-term damage to the population, even at the risk of some of these items may fall into the hands of Hamas fighters.” They also recommend that the international community begin discussions “as soon as possible” on the enormous reconstruction work that lies ahead, given the complex negotiations — between Israeli and Palestinian groups, U.N. agencies, and international donors — and intense planning that will be needed. It follows another letter signed by more than 1,000 USAID employees protesting the U.S. government’s position on the conflict. Celebs for dev. Global Citizen is at it again. This time, they’ve convinced rap superstar Kendrick Lamar to headline the launch concert for Move Afrika: A Global Citizen Experience — a new initiative aimed at establishing an international touring circuit on the African continent. The first concert is in Kigali in a couple of weeks, financed by a mix of philanthropic and corporate funding. You can buy tickets for between $16 and $97 but the majority of tickets will be allocated via a ballot to people taking part in the Global Citizen movement by signing petitions and posting about causes on social media. This is a classic part of the Global Citizen model — enticing young people to take part in global development activism in exchange for tickets to their star-studded concerts. However, not everyone is sold on the model. It’s a regular complaint that major international artists rarely tour Africa — nobody really knows why, but there could be a variety of factors — and Global Citizen hopes that better infrastructure for concerts and a more established circuit would benefit African artists as well as audiences. Whether convincing American artists to perform in Africa is the best use of philanthropic dollars is another question, but I’ll let you decide. Radical localization. Rory Stewart is a cash evangelist — everyone knows that by now. Until recently he headed up cash pioneers GiveDirectly, and he has frequently espoused cash as one of the most efficient and evidence-based interventions. But the former U.K. development secretary went further last week, describing it as “the most radical form of localization.” “NGOs are very excited about the localization agenda because it means money going to their staff,” he said. “Localization often means large numbers of professionals to study context, to consult, to do needs assessments, to listen. But the really radical thing would be to say there’s no need to listen. If you give unconditional cash to people, they can do what they want with the money, rather than you wasting a lot of that money asking them, listening to them, writing strategies, and then giving them what you think they need.” But he added that there are “very strong vested interests against cash” that have limited its uptake. ✉️ Do you have insights into any of this week’s bits and pieces? Let me know by replying to this email. Pro must-reads Catch up on some of the most popular Pro stories of the week. • Shock return of aid ‘champion’ David Cameron prompts calls for UK shift. • How WHO Africa cut down its emergency deliveries from 45 days to just 3. • Why the Green Climate Fund’s simplified approvals aren't that simple. Up next Global Food Security Summit. This one-day event hosted by the U.K. government aims “to galvanize action to tackle hunger and malnutrition.” It’s sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the U.K.’s second-biggest philanthropic organization. But there won’t be any new money announced. The focus is instead on science and innovation, and some worry it’s going to end up being a showcase for U.K. technology. Nov. 20. Health and climate. Following the publication last week of the Lancet Countdown report that detailed the risks of climate inaction, the Lancet Pathfinder Commission report will provide evidence of potential solutions benefitting health and climate. Nov. 20. Water financing. OECD and the African Development Bank are co-convening the 10th Roundtable on Financing Water in Abidjan. The meeting will explore new approaches to water financing in Africa and will feed into future international summits on water. Nov. 22-23. AI for development. The World Bank is hosting an introduction to generative AI and its applications for development. Nov. 22. Moving on Sylvie Briand is the new head of the secretariat for the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board. Steve Mason has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of the World University Service of Canada. Nasra Ismail was named as the new executive director of Alight's U.S. branch. Ashling Mulvaney, previously vice president of sustainability, access to health care, and Healthy Heart Africa at AstraZeneca, has launched her own venture, Equity Nexus Ltd. Did we miss one? Is there a change on the horizon? Let us know at devexpro@devex.com.