The most promising #vaccine candidate isn’t always the investment most likely to deliver a successful vaccine. 💉 Anthony McDonnell and Tim Laurence explain why funders should consider the portfolio as a whole and the value of diversifying risk. https://go.cgdev.org/3TXnue6

Following the Best Science Does Not Always Make the Best Vaccine Investment

The current vaccine we have against tuberculosis (TB)—the BCG vaccine—whilst valuable, has relatively low efficacy, and as a result TB remains the deadliest infectious disease in the world, killing ab...

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How can the average health worker have unused capacity while the average patient still faces a busy provider? New research across 10 African countries explores this disconnect and what it means for how health systems allocate their workforce. https://go.cgdev.org/4ADxOs6

How Overworked Are Healthcare Workers in Low-Income Countries?

A widely held view is that there is a severe shortage of health workers in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. There is no doubt that many countries suffer from sever...

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What does it take to guarantee better outcomes for all children, not just those who can afford to absorb the risks of school choice? After reading @nhannahjones.bsky.social during #UNGA81, Kehinde Ajayi reflects on school choice, accountability, and educational justice. go.cgdev.org/4AwJCMT

School Choice and Justice for All

As someone who’s spent many years studying educational decisions, I’ve thought deeply about the issue of school choice and educational inequality. It was, therefore, with great interest that I read Ni...

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Last week, the entire MSA Team Week came together in DC to make headway on #marketshaping. The retreat helped us (1) get closer to launching our current pull mechanisms and (2) consider new areas for work. The future of market shaping is bright! More ➡️ marketshapingaccelerator.org

We think panic from policymakers is a bigger risk than El Niño itself. Includes new analysis of past very strong El Niños which can have big national impacts but historically not global ones

Center for Global Development@cgdev.org · 4d ago

Could a record-breaking El Niño trigger another global food price spike? Grain stocks remain relatively high, providing a buffer against supply shocks. But disruptions to Black Sea exports could leave markets less resilient. Brendan Bayley & @ianmitchell1.bsky.social explore: go.cgdev.org/4AM73SG

US contributions to international organizations fell from $19.5B in FY24 to $8.6B in FY25. @charlesjkenny.bsky.social & @ecollinson.bsky.social look at what survived, what didn’t, and what may be lost when funding for little-known but valuable international cooperation is cut: go.cgdev.org/4hJXImB

From Great Lakes Parasites to Martian Microbes: Where US Multilateral Funding Survived, and Didn't, in FY25

The Great Lakes Fisheries Commission helps combat invasive, parasitic sea lampreys that threaten native fish populations (and thus fisheries)—and look like the stuff of nightmares. Some good news for ...

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Could a record-breaking El Niño trigger another global food price spike? Grain stocks remain relatively high, providing a buffer against supply shocks. But disruptions to Black Sea exports could leave markets less resilient. Brendan Bayley & @ianmitchell1.bsky.social explore: go.cgdev.org/4AM73SG

Will El Niño Mean Another Global Food Price Spike?

There are concerns that this year's El Niño--set to be the largest in living memory--could add another source of pressure on global food markets, alongside volatile global oil and fertilizer prices as a result of conflict in the Middle East, and renewed...

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📢 Do trust and transparency still matter? Launch of the 2026 Aid Transparency Index 📅 4 November, 3-4.30 GMT/10-11.30 EST with @cgdev.org Register now: www.cgdev.org/event/do-tru... #AidTransparency #2026Index

Who is the ultimate client of US global health assistance? Not governments or contractors, argues @charlesjkenny.bsky.social, but people who depend on lifesaving care. As the US shifts toward country-led health systems, he argues reforms must ensure that care isn’t put at risk. go.cgdev.org/4dwWAAm

Protecting the Client in US Global Health Agreements

The direction of travel laid out in the Global Health Strategy is correct. To the extent possible, health services should be provided and funded by the countries home to those receiving those services...

cgdev.org

As aid declines, more refugees in Kenya are expected to become self-reliant. But a new crackdown on foreign traders could make it even harder for them to work. @samhuckstep.bsky.social, @helen-dempster.bsky.social, and @qulshtm.bsky.social examine what this means for refugees. go.cgdev.org/3TN3vif

Kenya's Small-Business Crackdown Risks a Hammer Blow to Refugees

A new crackdown on foreigners operating small businesses in Kenya--announced by President Ruto in September--risks undermining progress made on integrating refugees. The government of Kenya must urgently clarify how it intends refugees to be affected, a...

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Could Sweden return as a global development leader? If its centre-left parties form a government, aid policy could shift significantly. But Anita Käppeli and Göran Holmqvist argue that leadership will take more than reversing recent cuts. go.cgdev.org/4iI0h9Z

Global education aid is under growing pressure. ✏️ Biniam Bedasso, @leecrawfurd.bsky.social, and Karen Mundy assess @gpforeducation.bsky.social’s approach—and argue that protecting foundational learning and financing for the poorest countries should remain a priority. https://go.cgdev.org/4rmVT2g

GPE is Worth Funding. It Should Protect Foundational Learning in the Poorest Places

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is the largest global pooled fund focused on education. This week at UNGA, GPE will ask donors to contribute to its fifth replenishment, seeking to raise at ...

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Africa has many of the ingredients for faster economic convergence. But sequencing matters. Andrew Dabalen and Jacques Morisset outline 4 policy shifts across skills, food, power, and public finance—and why getting the order right could change the arithmetic. https://go.cgdev.org/46D3MXR

Four Policy Shifts to Drive African Economies Towards Convergence

In this CGD note, Andrew Dabalen and Jacques Morisset aren't adding another list of what Africa lacks. Their argument is sharper than that: on skills, food, power, and public finance, the region has t...

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Outcome data can tell us whether aid is working. It can also help sustain it. @charlesjkenny.bsky.social looks at how PEPFAR’s strong evidence base supported advocacy—and why better impact data matters across foreign assistance. www.cgdev.org/blog/impact-...

Impact Data Helped Saved PEPFAR. What About Everything Else?

It is a justifiable commonplace that data on outcomes is key to effective aid: for targeting, delivery, monitoring and evaluation. Last year certainly provided additional evidence of the need for data...

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How well are aid agencies designing programmes to set them up for success? CGD researchers used AI models to review 244 documents from 49 aid providers. Early findings suggest multilateral providers generally have stronger project design processes. Explore the findings: go.cgdev.org/4rekvKt

Bracing for Impact: How Well Are Agencies Designing Their Programmes?

How good are donor organisations at designing their aid programmes? Organisations differ substantially in the requirements they place on programme sponsors to follow good design principles. We would love to assess donors on the impact of their aid portf...

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After two years of rethinking development cooperation, the challenge now is how to rebuild it for a changed world. Ahead of #DLC2026, Anita Käppeli and Kristyna Brozova look at the questions shaping this year’s discussions in Madrid. www.cgdev.org/blog/develop...

The Development Leaders Conference 2026: From Rethinking Development to Rebuilding It

Development leaders will gather in Madrid this October. After two years of debate on the future of development cooperation, we now need to build a system that can command political support and deliver...

cgdev.org

What has #UK aid achieved in #Malawi? @ianmitchell1.bsky.social looks at nearly two decades of support, including thousands of maternal and child deaths averted and millions receiving health and humanitarian assistance, as UK prepares to sharply cut direct support. www.cgdev.org/blog/what-ha...

What Has UK Aid Achieved in Malawi?

In one of the poorest and least-supported, Malawi—a country of around 22 million people—the UK has provided financial support totalling around £1.6 billion in today’s money since 2009. So, what has th...

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Could funding GPE help bring more World Bank financing into education? Biniam Bedasso, @leecrawfurd.bsky.social, and Karen Mundy find that countries receiving @gpforeducation.bsky.social grants are more likely to subsequently receive IDA education financing, especially in LMICs. go.cgdev.org/4xxraRr

The Best Way to Get More World Bank Money into Education Might Be to Fund GPE

In the current international aid environment, where bilateral funding for education has been significantly cut, multilateral financing mechanisms are likely to play an increasingly important role in enabling low- and middle-income countries to access th...

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The World Bank keeps reorganizing its approach to private sector development. But structure may not be the real problem. Álvaro S. González argues what’s missing is a consistent framework for deciding when World Bank intervention is justified. www.cgdev.org/publication/...

The World Bank Cannot Stop Reorganizing Its Private Sector Work: The Missing Welfare Anchor

The World Bank’s repeated reorganizations of its Private Sector Development functions have obscured a more fundamental challenge: the lack of a consistent framework for determining when intervention i...

cgdev.org

Solar power is rapidly expanding electricity access across Africa. But small-scale household solar alone can’t meet the reliable power needs of industry. @charlesjkenny.bsky.social looks at why Africa’s energy revolution may depend on who funds what. www.cgdev.org/publication/...

Will There Be an African Energy Revolution? That Depends on Who Funds What

The reach of electricity in Africa is rapidly extending, not least thanks to an explosion in imports of solar panels. This is good news for the quality of life of people in the region and is the prima...

cgdev.org

Should ODA graduation rules change to accommodate a handful of aid-dependent economies? @charlesjkenny.bsky.social and Euan Ritchie argue they shouldn’t. Instead, keep the current income threshold and create a clearer transition for highly aid-dependent countries that cross it. go.cgdev.org/4yzoqEf

Don’t Change ODA Graduation Rules To Score Assistance to Rich Small States

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) chair Carsten Stauer suggested on Monday that any changes to ODA graduation rules would be limited to highly aid dependent countries nearing the high-...

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As aid budgets shrink and new #AI wealth emerges, how should development funding adapt? Kehinde Ajayi argues for a “self-healing” approach that invests not only in proven interventions, but in the people and movements best placed to drive change. https://go.cgdev.org/46SAqoq

AI, Gender Equality, and Self-Healing

There’s immense value in curating an evidence-based set of scalable, cost-effective interventions, but not everything is known or measurable, and investing in things need not come at the expense of in...

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We’re delighted to welcome Gargee Ghosh and Kent Walker to CGD’s Board of Directors! Together, they bring deep experience spanning technology, global development, philanthropy, public policy, and more. We look forward to the perspectives and expertise they’ll bring to CGD. go.cgdev.org/4duMfEZ

It’s widely thought that developed countries have emitted by far the most greenhouse gases. But that’s not actually true. Climate change is too serious for efforts to address it to be hampered by misperceptions of who is responsible. Equity and justice really matter, but it’s time for a rethink.

Center for Global Development@cgdev.org · 3w ago

Climate finance rules still rely on country classifications set in 1992. But do they reflect today’s realities? New CGD research finds nine major emerging economies account for around 30% of GHG emissions since 1850, challenging the traditional developed/developing divide. go.cgdev.org/3VkBkHK

Does an extra year of schooling really deliver little to no economic return? 🎒 @leecrawfurd.bsky.social re-examines the evidence and finds returns of around 5–6% per additional year of schooling, even after correcting for publication bias. www.cgdev.org/publication/...

The Returns to Education: A Comment

Clark and Nielsen (2026) assemble a large dataset of quasi-experimental studies and argue that the causal return to an extra year of schooling is close to zero once one corrects for the selective publ...

cgdev.org

Philanthropy can help channel funds toward breakthroughs that markets aren't delivering. @devex.com highlights NeoTest, our proposed $60M pull-funding facility for neonatal sepsis diagnostics, as a ready-to-fund solution that could catalyze innovation. www.cgdev.org/blog/neotest...

How can philanthropy fund breakthroughs where markets fall short? @devex.com highlights NeoTest, a $60M pull-funding proposal from CGD’s @uchi-msa.bsky.social to accelerate neonatal sepsis diagnostics. www.devex.com/news/how-a-n...

How a new philanthropy model moved $533 million

Renaissance Philanthropy has mobilized half a billion dollars in under three years through a lean, time-bound fund model. Here is how it works and what it means for organizations operating in its issu...

devex.com

Climate finance rules still rely on country classifications set in 1992. But do they reflect today’s realities? New CGD research finds nine major emerging economies account for around 30% of GHG emissions since 1850, challenging the traditional developed/developing divide. go.cgdev.org/3VkBkHK

Not Fit for Purpose: Why Climate Classifications of Developed and Developing Countries Have to Change

Our new research presents a comparative analysis of historical emissions from numerous datasets using different measures of emissions, different classifications of developed and developing countries, ...

cgdev.org

Last week, CGD’s @charlesjkenny.bsky.social raised concerns about how the @oecd-ocde.bsky.social’s Development Assistance Committee is responding to falling aid volumes. DAC Chair Carsten Staur responds, offering his perspective on the future of ODA and the DAC’s evolving role. go.cgdev.org/3UFNDOI

DAC Chair: We’re Getting There

Carsten Staur, Chair of the DAC, responds to Charles Kenny's blog on the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC), disagreeing with some of the conclusions and setting out his view of the DAC’s r...

cgdev.org

What’s really holding back digital financial inclusion? CGD’s free online course offers a practical Decision Tree framework for identifying the root causes limiting digital payment use and focusing policy action where it can have the greatest impact. https://go.cgdev.org/4xH5YJU

An Online CGD Course to Unlock Digital Financial Inclusion for Development

Mobile phones are ubiquitous in today’s world. Consumers can now tap their phones, or even scan their palms, to pay for goods and services. This seamless access to financial services is increasingly c...

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