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Devex •

UN agencies embrace AI as budgets fall and staff demand rises

United Nations agencies are ramping up efforts to use artificial intelligence for day-to-day efficiency — and, increasingly, to support work in the field. It’s not only a race not to keep pace with advancements in AI, in many cases, but a bid to keep up with staff requests for new solutions amid tightening budgets and limited resources. In the last few years, dedicated AI teams have cropped up across many agencies, while existing IT and digital units pivoted to focus on the technology as guidanc...
Devex •

Is MrBeast a force for good in development — or a big problem?

When you think of key players in global development, MrBeast — the world’s richest YouTuber — probably isn’t who comes to mind. But increasingly, he’s become a major philanthropic player in his own right, giving away hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it in the global south, in an incredibly public way. And perhaps more important than that, his vast audience means that he’s influencing how a whole generation views aid.Since starting his own YouTube gaming channel in 2012 at the age of 13,...
Devex •

Post-USAID survey of consultants finds many questioning the path

In February, after six years as an independent consultant, Lorenz Wild concluded his assignments and prepared to begin a personal service contract with USAID Ecuador as an economic growth and private sector engagement specialist.Then suddenly, like many others in the sector, he found himself with no work at all.

In February, after six years as an independent consultant, Lorenz Wild concluded his assignments and prepared to begin a personal service contract with USAID Ecuador as an economic grow...
Devex •

How the development job market in Africa shifted in 2025

Africa, like all regions, saw significant development job cuts in 2025. According to Devex’s job board data, opportunities are down 33% in the region.This includes full-time staff positions — down 30% — and long-term consulting assignments, which have dropped by 48%, as well as field assignments and short-term gigs.Funding cuts are the biggest external factor impacting the development job market in Africa this year, according to Adebayo Olowo-Ake, director and principal research fellow at the Af...
Devex •

Is it growing harder to find a development role overseas?

Facing a bleak job market at home, some global development professionals based in the United States and other donor countries may be considering their career opportunities overseas. These positions once typically came with a relocation package and other attractive perks. However, such roles are increasingly scarce. After months of budget cuts across the sector, organizations are looking to save money on hiring, leveraging local talent instead. According to Fatema Z. Sumar, Harvard Kennedy School...
Devex •

How BD roles have changed in development in 2025

In the wake of funding cuts, contract terminations, and staff layoffs, revenue generation became the priority for many organizations this year. While hiring remains generally slow across the sector, experts told Devex that there is a demand for business development expertise as organizations look for new ways to bring in money amid an increasingly competitive funding landscape.But business development roles today look quite different from what they once were.Unsurprisingly, many organizations ar...
Devex •

The roles most affected by aid cuts — and those which aren't

Hiring remains slow across global development organizations, with job opportunities limited. But certain roles have been hit harder than others.Devex heard from several employers — including United Nations agencies and international nongovernmental organizations — that ongoing internal restructuring means they are not yet ready to outline upcoming hiring priorities. But there are some indications of which parts of the job market have remained strongest.According to Kim Kucinskas, director of org...
Devex •

The untapped potential of Africa’s women entrepreneurs

Women in Africa are among the most entrepreneurial in the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, they make up more than half (58%) of the self-employed population in nonagricultural sectors and are more likely to become entrepreneurs than men — the only region in the world where this is true.But they do so in the face of a plethora of obstacles. Across the continent, gender disparities persist in many areas of daily life: A recent report found that women enjoy barely half of the social, economic, and rep...
Devex •

How will the next generation get into the global development industry?

The long-used pathways into global development work are having what some see as an unprecedented shake-up. Internships and training programs are being scaled back due to job freezes, artificial intelligence is able to take on much of the work normally handed off to entry-level hires, and NGOs are making an effort to hire more from the global south. What does that mean for those hoping to break into the industry — and who is well-placed to do so? Katherine Raphaelson, president of the U.S. chapte...
Devex •

What development pros need to know about fisheries and aquaculture

With aquatic animal production expected to reach 205 million metric tons by 2032, the potential of aquatic foods to contribute to food security, nutrition, and poverty reduction is increasingly recognized across global forums. Fisheries and aquaculture are critical elements for global food security, said Carlos Fuentevilla, fishery officer for technical program coordination with the Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO. For 40% of the global population, aquatic foods provide at least 20% of...
Devex •

Staffing priorities for the Gaza humanitarian crisis

The ongoing war in Gaza has resulted in a devastating loss of life, with at least 44,000 Palestinians killed, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The humanitarian affairs agency also reports that more than 100,000 people have been injured, and an estimated 1.9 million — nearly the entire population of 2.1 million — have been forcibly displaced.Many aid organizations have shifted their programming priorities and scaled up the delivery of services o...
Devex •

Bridging the cancer care gap: Funding solutions for LMICs

Despite being responsible for three-quarters of global deaths and placing a growing socioeconomic burden on governments worldwide, noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, continue to receive only around 1%-2% of global financing investment for health.Progress in closing the NCD funding gap has been limited, despite numerous high-level United Nations meetings on the issue, with the economic impact of COVID-19 further hindering efforts, said Cary Adams, CEO of the Union for International Cancer Control...
Devex •

Global effort needed to tackle the double burden of diabetes and TB

As one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally, approximately 537 million adults are living with diabetes. Diabetes should, however, not limit quality of life, hence good glycemic control is important.Undetected or uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to a number of complications, including micro- and macrovascular as well as kidney disease. What might be less known, is that when diabetes is prevalent, there is also an increased risk of tuberculosis, or TB. In advance of World Diabe...
Devex •

How Tinder-inspired tech can match philanthropic funds to ocean action

A new tool that uses algorithm matching technology and a learning model similar to dating app Tinder aims to connect philanthropic funding with initiatives working on ocean science solutions for sustainable development.Launched at the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona on April 12 by a group of philanthropies in partnership with UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Ocean Matcher platform aims to address the funding gap for Ocean Decade Actions by matching philanthropic...
Devex •

To make food systems sustainable, investment must match policy

For the first time, the presidency of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP, has made food a priority. The 134 signatories commit their countries to integrate food and agriculture into their climate strategies. It’s a conversation that is welcome and overdue, according to Anita Neville, chief sustainability and communications officer at Golden Agri-Resources. But truly prioritizing food system transformation also involves more meaningful investment.
Devex •

Why it’s time to rethink infrastructure and value nature

Nature as infrastructure, a transformative concept spearheaded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, prioritizes investment in building and enhancing nature.

“We have spent a long time degrading nature, so we have a responsibility to rebuild it,” said Erik Berglof, AIIB’s chief economist, and that involves rethinking traditional infrastructure and looking first at what nature can deliver in terms of services, for example, rivers that have served civilizations for millennia.
Devex •

DevExplains: Why the food crisis is worse for women and girls

Globally, women play a huge role in ensuring everyone has enough to eat — with responsibility for an estimated 90% of all food purchases and preparation — yet gender inequality means that they are more vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition. In times of crisis, it’s women who forgo the most meals. Between 2019 and 2021, the gender gap in food insecurity more than doubled from 49 million to 126 million, as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted livelihoods, income, and access to nutritious food for women....
Devex •

DevExplains: Why the food crisis is worse for women and girls

Globally, women play a huge role in ensuring everyone has enough to eat — with responsibility for an estimated 90% of all food purchases and preparation — yet gender inequality means that they are more vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition.

In times of crisis, it’s women who forgo the most meals. Between 2019 and 2021, the gender gap in food insecurity more than doubled from 49 million to 126 million, as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted livelihoods, income, and access to nutritious food for women
Devex •

Q&A: How to prepare for the aging population of the future

Population aging is one of the most significant trends of the 21st century — 1 in 8 people in the world are aged 60 or over, and by 2050, this age group will make up 22% of the global population. This is something to be celebrated, said Michael Herrmann, senior adviser on economics, and manager of the Innovation Fund at the United Nations Population Fund — mainly, because it’s a result of significant improvements in modern medicine, infrastructure, nutrition, and water and sanitation, among othe...
the Guardian •

Ghana’s school on stilts: the floating village where teachers are too scared to go

In west Ghana, the village of Nzulezo perches above the dark water of Lake Tadane, backed by dense swampland. Built entirely on wooden stilts and platforms carved from raffia palms, the cluster of structures is home to more than 500 people, with two churches, a small guesthouse, a bar and primary school.

Nominated in 2000 for inclusion as a Unesco world heritage site, the village is on the bucket list of visitors to the west African country, curious about a unique way of life on the water. But

To build sustainable livelihoods, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach

Approximately half the world’s population still lives on the equivalent of about $2 a day, and when global shocks occur – whether a pandemic or climate disaster – it’s marginalized communities that face the greatest challenges in rebuilding their homes and livelihoods.

In northern Uganda, for example, traditional subsistence farming is the for many households, but extreme weather, such as prolonged droughts or floods, is putting families at risk of food insecurity. Poor infrastructure also make
The New Humanitarian •

Melilla and Ceuta: What’s behind the deaths at Morocco’s land border with the EU?

Early on the morning of 24 June, around 2,000 asylum seekers and migrants – many from Sudan and South Sudan – attempted en masse to cross the border fence separating the Moroccan town of Nador from Spain’s North African exclave of Melilla.

Moroccan security forces responded by firing tear gas and wielding batons. According to government accounts, 23 asylum seekers and migrants were killed. Local human rights groups say the true toll may be as high as 37. Dozens more were injured.

Months later,
Devex •

Why marginalized voices are critical for resilient WASH services

Around the world, extreme and unpredictable weather events as a result of climate change are making it harder for rural communities to access safe, clean water — and it’s often women and people with disabilities who bear the greatest burden.

In southern Indonesia and Timor-Leste, for example, heavy rainfall means water collection points in ravines become inaccessible for people with disabilities as well as elderly people or pregnant people. Then come the dry spells and droughts, forcing communi
Devex •

How US employers can support the evacuation of Afghan staff

More than two months since the collapse of the Afghan government, many U.S.-based development employers are still working to secure visas and a safe route out for their local staff. Concerns are growing as bureaucratic processes and a backlog of applications continue to slow these efforts.

Based on conversations with implementing partners, Paul Foldi, vice president of international development affairs at the Professional Services Council, estimates that a minimum of 10,000 aid staff and their
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