US amps up aid restrictions, and those left behind in era of self-interest

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This week we report on the U.S. State Department’s radical expansion of the Mexico City Policy, also known as the global gag rule, which blocks U.S. federal funding to international nongovernmental organizations that provide or inform about abortion. Beyond the traditional reproductive health restrictions, three sweeping new rules now tether all U.S. foreign assistance to strict prohibitions on “gender ideology” as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives.

During the conversation we also dig into the key findings of a report published by the European Network on Debt and Development, or Eurodad, which warns that modernized aid rules are focusing on the political and commercial priorities of wealthy donors while leaving the world's poorest countries buried in debt.

We also touch on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s updated accountability and grievance mechanism, and our exclusive story which reveals through a set of leaked emails that the Beijing-based lender is sidestepping on-the-ground meetings with Indigenous communities over alleged human rights abuses at a tourism development project in Indonesia.

To explore these stories, Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger sits down with Managing Editor Anna Gawel and Global Development Reporter Jesse Chase-Lubitz for the latest episode of our weekly podcast series.

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