Long Story Short

America's refugee resettlement system has been battered by politics and bureaucracy. Nazanin Ash leads a new coalition of grassroots resettlement networks called Welcome.US, which is built on a simpler premise: that when asked to help those in need, most people will say "yes." Before joining Welcome.US, Ash served as Vice President of Global Policy and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee, and held senior positions in the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development.

Marinel Sumook Ubaldo has channeled the firsthand experience of climate-related disaster into a voice of youth advocacy. Working with the nonprofit Living Laudato Si' Philippines, Ubaldo is fighting for the rights of those with the most to lose from a warming planet. A Filipino climate activist, Ubaldo helped organize the first youth climate strike in her country in 2019 and continues to lobby governments worldwide on environmental issues.

The president of the Rockefeller Foundation says the World Bank and other financial institutions must do more to rise to the challenges of economic and climate crises that threaten to unwind global development gains. Michael Igoe sits down with Rajiv Shah to talk about this, and how the foundation’s historical ties to oil money have affected its present-day focus on climate transitions. Before becoming president of The Rockefeller Foundation, Raj Shah served as USAID administrator under President Obama, as Chief Scientist at USDA, and in a range of leadership roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

UNGA is back and so is the Clinton Global Initiative. Devex Editor in chief Raj Kumar talks with Chelsea Clinton about what the future holds for her family's signature convening — and what she wants to see happen in global health. Chelsea Clinton is vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, where she focuses on the Foundation’s global health programs. She is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Subscribe to our free, weekly newsletter, Devex CheckUp: devex.com/newsletters

Since José Andrés founded World Central Kitchen in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning chef has been challenging the traditional model of shipping in food aid from overseas in emergency situations. World Central Kitchen focuses on mobilizing grassroots networks of cooks and food producers, with the aim of creating a more sustainable local food system after and beyond a disaster. Reporter Teresa Welsh sits down with Andrés, who also runs restaurants in Washington, D.C. and around the country, to discuss World Central Kitchen’s model, how it challenges traditional humanitarian food aid, and what food means to people in their moments of greatest need.

As the global development community descends on New York City for the 77th United Nations General Assembly, Devex Senior Reporter Michael Igoe sits down with our very own Editor-in-Chief, Raj Kumar, to discuss: what is UNGA, exactly? Raj Kumar is a Washington, D.C.-based social impact leader, journalist, and author specialized in global development. He is the President & Editor-in-Chief of Devex, and the author of The Business of Changing the World, an influential book about the future of global aid and philanthropy. For the latest development news, subscribe to the Devex newswire at devex.com/newsletters

Not only does 2022 mark the third year of a global pandemic, it also marks seven and a half years into the SDGs — the halfway point. This year, the World Economic Forum Annual meeting will convene in person for the first time in 2 years. This week-long event is an opportunity to reflect on crucial SDG goals and targets and to develop solutions to spring forward and achieve them in a post-pandemic era. Devex will be on the ground in Davos covering the conversations and getting the insider scoop directly from global leaders. Episode 1: An interview with Devex Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar and Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger

Alexandra Hernández Muro on her journey into LGBTQ activism by Devex

Victoria Zwein on the challenges facing women in politics in Lebanon by Devex

Before the pandemic, 37% of schools didn’t have a decent toilet. What impact does that have on education? In this final episode of the series, Amruta and Rebecca speak to Ada Oko-Williams, senior WASH manager of sanitation at WaterAid and co-founder of the African Women Sanitation Professionals Network and Mohammad Zobair Hasan, chief of research, evaluation, and monitoring at the Development Organisation of the Rural Poor, about the intersection of WASH and education and what actions can be taken to push forward progress on both SDG 4 and 6.

WASH at the heart of peace and war by Devex

With COP 26 in full swing, Rebecca and Amruta explore how water, sanitation and hygiene are affected by climate change – and could also help provide a solution. Sanitation and Water for All's Catarina de Albuquerque, Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh, and Aishwarya Pramod, accelerator and investment manager at the Toilet Board Coalition share their views about the intersection of WASH and climate and what actions can be taken to push forward progress in both Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate action and SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation.

“Can you imagine labor and delivery without water?” That’s the reality for many women in rural Ethiopia, according to Migs Muldrow, founder and board chair of Village Health Partnerships. Without it, patients can’t use the toilet and health care workers can’t wash their hands after procedures, Nkwan Jacob Gobte, a WASH infection prevention and control nurse working with the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, said. In episode 2 of WASH Works, Rebecca and Amruta look at the intersection of WASH and health, and what actions can be taken to push forward progress on both SDG 3 on good health and well-being and SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation.

When it comes to poor access to water and decent sanitation, the repercussions are often disproportionately felt by women. For example, a lack of adequate facilities in schools might mean girls having to stay at home during their menstruation, impacting their ability to learn; collecting water instead of working can limit their opportunities to earn a living, and using a toilet without a lock can leave them open to gender-based violence. To kick off the WASH Works series, Rebecca speaks to Barbara Schreiner, executive director of the Water Integrity Network, and Jamila Mayanja, the CEO of Smart Girls Foundation Uganda, about the intersection of water, sanitation, and hygiene, or WASH, and gender equality and what actions can be taken to push forward progress on both Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 6.

Around the world, millions of people lack access to clean and safe drinking water, toilets, and handwashing facilities. In a new podcast from Devex, reporters Rebecca Root and Amruta Byatnal take a look at how a lack of water, sanitation and hygiene, or WASH, services is impacting communities, and the small scale solutions that can help us better understand how to make progress on a larger scale.

Charles Muthoga, Health Economist, Botswana Harvard Aids Partnership by Devex

This year’s UN climate talks in Katowice have raised major questions about the influence of fossil fuel companies on global climate policy, the ability of negotiators to push forward an ambitious climate agenda and the fortitude of the Paris Agreement. Against a conflicting backdrop of alarming new climate science and pro-coal superpowers working against the tide of progress, the fate of the Paris Rulebook — the guiding document for implementing the Paris Agreement — hangs in the balance. From the heart of Polish coal country, Devex’s Michael Igoe, Andrew Green and Kate Midden explore major stories from the COP so far — and what this year’s negotiations mean for global development.

In this episode, editors Jessica Abrahams and Kate Midden explore the unique issues our sector faces — power imbalances between national and international staff, challenges with international background checks, barriers to effective safeguarding policies — and the biggest moments in #AidToo this year.

The Trump administration's foreign aid review could have significant implications for the next round of foreign aid budget planning. In this episode, senior reporter Michael Igoe and Kate Midden discuss what we know, what we don't — and what the process means for U.S. aid.

Live from the International Conference on Family Planning in Kigali, reporter Sophie Edwards speaks to PSI's Karl Hofmann and IDEO.org's Jessa Blades about adolescents, human-centered design, and family planning.