Devex Pro Insider: Musk, misinformation, and the fight for USAID

As Storm Trump continues to engulf U.S. aid, I wanted to start by letting you know about a series of events lined up for Devex Pro members this week that will offer more insight into what comes next. • Feb. 10, 11 a.m. ET: First up, can development finance plug the gaps? As the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation becomes the latest institution to be hit by cuts (more on that later in this newsletter), we’re gathering a panel of experts to discuss this critical question, as well as which changes and innovations might help the sector increase its impact this year — in the U.S. and beyond. • Feb. 10, 1 p.m. ET: Later that day, join us for an important conversation with Jim Richardson, an influential conservative voice on global development who served as foreign assistance director at the State Department during Trump’s first administration. Richardson will share his perspective on what’s happening and what the future might hold for U.S. aid. • Feb. 11, 12 p.m. ET: Finally, we’ll be speaking to Chip Lyons, president of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, about the impact on HIV/AIDS programs and how organizations can respond to sudden funding disruptions. If you can’t join these events live, register anyway and we’ll send you the recording by email. Are there other events you’d like to see in the coming weeks? Let me know by replying to this email. Also in today’s edition: An aid reform group finds itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, faith-based organizations feel the heat, and who will fight for USAID? Bits and pieces Misinformation unlocked. Much false information about USAID has been shared over the past week or so — and we’ll have more on that coming soon — but many in the community were particularly dismayed to see good-faith arguments for aid reform used against the sector last week. As Elon Musk’s department set about dismantling USAID, he shared a comment from Unlock Aid, a group that advocates for improvements to foreign assistance, particularly localization. In the comment, co-executive director Walter Kerr — formerly of the Global Fund and State Department — appeared to claim that just 10% of USAID dollars reach the communities they’re intended for. “The level of corruption and waste is unreal!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X. In fact, the stat — given to PBS for a segment aired on Jan. 7 — refers to the share of USAID dollars going directly to local organizations. In a newsletter the following day, Unlock Aid said the stat had been taken out of context, and Kerr even replied to Musk offering to meet and discuss how to improve the effectiveness of USAID. Unsurprisingly, there was no response. Unlock Aid is one of numerous groups that are pro-aid but nonetheless critical of the dominant way in which it is delivered. Three weeks ago, some were even hopeful that the new U.S. administration might offer an opportunity for true reform, including around localization. However, it’s a difficult moment to make the case for nuance, which in the end seems to be lost on this administration. No exceptions. Something else that was being talked about before Jan. 20 was the expectation that faith-based organizations would play a larger role in foreign assistance under donald Trump, who won the support of Catholic and evangelical Christian voters. As it turns out, though, they’ve faced the same cuts as everybody else. Catholic Relief Services was the biggest recipient of USAID grants last year, winning obligations worth more than $500 million. That has left it highly exposed to the cuts and layoffs have already begun, with CEO Sean Callahan telling staffers that it will be “a much smaller overall organization by the end of this fiscal year.” The freeze has also affected other Christian groups such as World Relief and World Vision. Some of these organizations have supporters within the Trump administration who they’re trying to leverage, according to Time Magazine, and some Christian humanitarians see the freeze as a betrayal of the commitments Trump made to the Christian community during his campaign. Anne Linn, who previously worked for the President’s Malaria Initiative, told Time that the freeze would kill people: “If we say that we are pro-life, we cannot be OK with this.” We’ll DFC. It’s a similar situation at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, which is expected to be led by financier Benjamin Black. DFC was formed during the first Trump administration and with its focus on private investment, it was assumed it would fare better under Trump 2.0 than organizations focused on grants. But it too has been hit by cuts, with staffers being told that all probationary employees and some others would be let go to comply with guidance on the reduction of the federal workforce. The probationary period typically lasts one to two years, so some DFC teams could see most of their staff members being sent home, my colleague Adva Saldinger reported. It’s a fragile moment for the development finance institution, which committed $12 billion in the last fiscal year, as it faces congressional reauthorization this year. Where’s the fight? One question I’ve heard a lot as all of this has unfolded is: Why hasn’t there been more of a fight back against what’s happening? There has been some, of course — thousands protested outside the U.S. Capitol last week, and labor unions representing USAID employees also filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the dismantling of the agency. But many aid organizations have remained conspicuously quiet and many are also disappointed by the generally lackluster response from the Democrats and broader political world. When it comes to INGOs and other aid organizations that receive U.S. funding, many seem to think they’re keeping their heads down, afraid to be too loudly critical of the administration at what is an existential moment for many of them — although at some point you have to wonder if there’s much left to risk. When it comes to politics, there are a couple of answers. As former USAID Administrator Samantha Power pointed out when she appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” last week, while an attempted freeze on domestic aid was quickly reversed following a public outcry, the recipients of foreign aid don’t have a voice in U.S. politics. However, many Democrats also likely feel that bigger fights are coming, especially as foreign assistance is generally not an important issue to U.S. voters. As Rahm Emanuel, the former House leader, told Politico: “You don’t fight every fight. … And my view is — while I care about the USAID as a former ambassador — that’s not the hill I’m going to die on.” Bye to Bezos. Finally, turning to the world of philanthropy, which has also been keeping its head down through all of this, but more on that another time, there’s big news from the Bezos Earth Fund. First of all, its inaugural president and CEO Andrew Steer will be stepping down after four years. He hasn’t yet said what he’s moving on to but did say that he’s been “hoping to get back to my roots, focusing on international development and the interaction of the environment, finance and the economy,” and that he’ll be spending more time in London where his children are now based. Doug Varley, the fund’s general counsel, will be taking over in the interim. It comes as the $10 billion fund ended its support for the Science Based Targets initiative, which monitors companies’ decarbonization efforts. Some saw it as evidence of Bezos capitulating to Trump and his anti-climate agenda — he is, after all, believed to have blocked his newspaper, The Washington Post, from endorsing Kamala Harris before the election. But it would be pretty tricky for the Bezos Earth Fund to pivot away from climate projects since that’s its entire raison d’etre. The fund itself said its initial $18 million commitment had expired and it hadn’t yet made a decision on future funding. In the meantime, it leaves SBTi in a difficult situation, as Bezos is one of its two core funders. ✉️ Do you have insights into any of this week’s bits and pieces? Let me know by replying to this email. Moving on Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the former director of the Nigeria CDC, has been appointed as WHO’s acting regional director for Africa. It comes after the unexpected death of Dr. Faustine Engelbert Ndugulile, who had previously been appointed to the role, in November. Also at WHO, Dr. Sandro Demaio becomes the new head of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health. Reeta Roy, president and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, is leaving the organization after nearly two decades. However, she’ll continue to serve through 2025, until a successor is appointed. Anne Jellema is the new executive director of climate campaign group 350.org. And Zineb Bhaby is now AI lead at the Norwegian Refugee Council. Did we miss one? Is there a change on the horizon? Let us know at devexpro@devex.com. Up next Munich Security Conference. This global forum on international security, typically attended by dozens of world leaders, has become more relevant to the development community over the last few years. Conflict and a lack of development are increasingly recognized as security issues, and this year in particular the meeting is under pressure to respond to Trump’s war on aid and climate action. The U.S. president himself is sending a delegation that is expected to present his plan for ending the war in Ukraine. We’ll have a team on the ground bringing you the latest news. Feb. 14-16. NCD Conference. My colleague Sara Jerving will be at the Global NCD Alliance Forum in Rwanda, which brings 650 delegates from around the world to coordinate ahead of this year’s U.N. high-level meeting on NCDs. Some of the themes include mobilizing sustainable financing, empowering communities, and leadership for preventing and controlling these diseases. Feb. 13-15. The World Governments Summit is taking place in Dubai. Established by the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates in 2013, it describes itself as a “global knowledge exchange platform” with the stated goal of “identifying innovative solutions to future challenges” and “empowering the next generation of governments.” The six core themes are governance and accountability; the global economy; climate and crisis mitigation; “human-centric futures”; global health transformations; and “emerging frontiers”. Feb. 11-13. Disaster risk reduction. Over in Kuwait, there’s the 6th Arab Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which will check what progress has been made on implementing the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030 and map out the next steps. The resulting Kuwait Declaration will feed into the 2025 high-level political forum on sustainable development and the global platform for DRR. Feb. 9-12.