On this week’s podcast episode, we unpack U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget request, which proposes sweeping cuts to foreign aid and includes the elimination of funding for major global health initiatives such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The administration has also submitted a $9.4 billion rescission proposal to the U.S. Congress, seeking to formally cancel previously approved funds, much of it earmarked for foreign assistance. If approved, the move would codify into law cuts already made by the Department of Government Efficiency. The upcoming congressional response will be a critical test of foreign aid advocacy.

We also discuss what happened at last week’s African Development Bank meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where delegates discussed the need to diversify funding sources in the wake of U.S. aid cuts and focus on more reliable partnerships. The meetings also marked a leadership transition, with Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah appointed as the AfDB’s new president, vowing to mobilize private sector investment and deepen partnerships with the Gulf states.

To discuss these stories, Devex Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba is joined by reporters Michael Igoe and Ayenat Mersie for this episode of This Week in Global Development.

This Week in Global Dev: #99: Trump budget targets US aid, plus what we heard at AfDB meetings

The Caribbean island of Jamaica is just one of many small island developing states under threat due to the impacts of climate change.

Devex sat down with Suzanne Stanley, CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust, to find out more about the work of JET and why they see education as being key to combating climate impacts.

Episode 1: A local approach to climate change in Jamaica with Suzanne Stanley

Kiribati has one of the lowest carbon-emission footprints in the world. But, with the highest points of these 33 low-lying atolls rising to just a few meters above sea level, the country is also one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

In the second episode of the Turning the Tide: Climate Champions podcast, Devex speaks to Kiribati's former president, Anote Tong, about the sensitivities surrounding climate-change induced migration and the need for the global community to cooperate on solutions to the challenges posed by climate change.

Episode 2: The complexity of climate-change induced migration with Anote Tong

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This Week in Global Dev: #99: Trump budget targets US aid, plus what we heard at AfDB meetings

Devex | Global Development

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