Presented by International Monetary Fund
With the Trump administration dead set on yanking most U.S. funding to the United Nations, the world body is being forced to adapt to a constrained new fiscal reality — and the workforce is about to feel the squeeze.
Also in today’s edition: Africa tries to come to the finance negotiating table with a united front.
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The high cost of reform
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U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres recently launched a new reform initiative, dubbed UN80. According to an internal memo, sent by the U.N. comptroller, it’s “an ambitious effort to ensure that the United Nations is fit for purpose to support twenty-first century multilateralism, reduce human suffering and build better lives and futures for all.”
That’s all well and good, but being “fit for purpose” actually translates into some serious downsizing for the U.N. in the face of potentially steep U.S. cuts.
Specifically, Guterres is seeking to eliminate 20% of jobs across the U.N. Secretariat, which employs some 35,000 people, and to make a 20% reduction to the U.N.’s regular budget, which covers essential programs and administration costs, and is currently set at just under $3.7 billion for 2026.
The internal memo instructed that by June 13, dozens of senior U.N. officials need to report on how they can achieve the proposed cuts in their departments. It acknowledged the “aggressive timelines” of this “collective effort.”
But critics say that downsizing is being done too hastily.
The current quest for savings is just “about cuts,” Martin Griffiths, the former U.N. emergency relief coordinator, told Devex last week. “That’s not about reform. I think that’s wrong.”
“The letter asks for massive structural changes, with far-reaching consequences, to be decided within two weeks,” Ian Richards, head of the U.N. staff union in Geneva, tells my colleague Colum Lynch. “While providing some guidance, managers still have no idea how to implement this.”
“It’s not clear whether the SG [secretary-general] has really thought things through,” he adds.
Read: UN chief outlines plans for thousands of new job cuts
ICYMI: Former UN relief chief says world body's reforms lack vision
Keeping the peace
Today is the International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers. I’m going to go out on a (short) limb and guess that U.S. President Donald Trump is not about to sing the praises of those we commonly refer to as the Blue Helmets.
My estimation is based on the fact that his administration is eyeing cuts to the U.N. peacekeeping budget — or at least cuts to what it calls “wasteful” missions.
But plenty of people see the value and need for U.N. peacekeepers in today’s messy world.
“The global landscape is dangerous and complex. Crises erupt quickly and spread faster, magnified by international political polarization, transnational crime, terrorism, a rising sense of impunity, and the weakening of international law,” writes Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the U.N. undersecretary-general for peace operations, in a Devex opinion piece.
Lacroix points out that at a recent U.N. Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin, more than half of the 130 member state delegations in attendance made concrete pledges to make missions stronger, safer, and more effective.
It’s a wise investment, he argues: “If the past tells us anything, it is that peacekeeping can deliver when we invest in it and stay the course. Peacekeeping’s record is measured not only by what happens but by what doesn’t — violence that was averted, escalation that was prevented, space that was created for politics to work.”
Opinion: UN peacekeeping is both a lifesaving tool and a smart investment
The debt fight
The upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, or FfD4, is a prime opportunity to address the weaknesses of the global financial architecture, including the high debt burdens weighing down many African nations.
Ahead of FfD4, Africa is staking out a common position on how that debt should be handled.
Member states of the African Union recently gathered for the bloc’s inaugural conference on debt held in Lomé, Togo, where governments and finance institutions adopted a joint declaration to project “a strong and unified African voice on the international stage.” It aims to tackle issues such as debt restructuring through the Group of 20 major economies’ Common Framework — an arduous process involving multiple creditors that has yet to yield substantial debt relief for African nations.
The AU declaration called for debt forgiveness and a raft of other reforms to the G20 Common Framework. It also calls for wealthy nations to recognize the importance of concessional financing and other capital flows to ease debt distress on the continent.
Jason Braganza of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development tells Devex contributor Anthony Langat that the conference “puts into central focus the inadequacies and the power imbalances” in the current debt restructuring process.
Read: African nations demand debt relief, increased aid and financial reform
With the FfD4 summit in Seville, Spain, just weeks away, Devex Pro is hosting a virtual event series. On June 3, it’s all about debt. Join us as Iolanda Fresnillo, David Grigorian, Eric LeCompte, and Hannah Ryder unpack the geopolitical stakes of debt relief and restructuring, and whether FfD4 can deliver more than vague commitments. Save your spot now.
In critical condition
In the face of sweeping aid cuts, many experts say nations dependent on aid will have to cultivate greater self-reliance. That’s especially true in the critical area of health, said panelists at a Devex summit on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly last week.
“Health has been consistently deprioritized in national budgets, especially in poorer countries, and it's not clear why that happened,” argued Kalipso Chalkidou, director of health financing and economics at the World Health Organization. One possibility, she said, is that there was too much health funding assistance, so “governments felt that it would be inefficient to put more of their own money there.”
“It will be interesting to see Africa rise up, the institutions in Africa, the leaders in Africa, to take control and make those decisions that will be critical. And for that, you don’t necessarily need the money, but you do need systematic approach and then action,” she said.
Read: As aid declines, Africans must take a greater lead on health financing
+ Missed our Devex CheckUp @ WHA78 summit? Don’t worry, all of the sessions are available to watch via YouTube.
Not spending
With official development assistance plummeting — a trend that’s likely to continue for some time — countries will be increasingly left to fend for themselves, my colleague Alecsondra Kieren Si writes. So we asked which countries are spending the least on their development? Among them:
• Chad, which has a gross national income of almost $13 billion, but only spent $553.5 million on its development, which accounted for 4.3% of its GNI in 2023.
• Bangladesh, which has the largest GNI among those in the list, with $493.9 billion, but only spent $24.8 billion on its development, which accounts for only 5% of its GNI in 2023.
To view the rest, check out Alecsondra’s analysis.
Read: Which countries spend the least on their own development? (Pro)
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Staying active
While the global development job market looks bleak, over 20,000 job postings have still appeared on Devex since the U.S. foreign aid freeze first began. Knowing which organizations remain the most active in recruiting new talent can give job seekers an edge in a more competitive market.
So to help make sense of the current recruitment landscape, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide featuring exclusive data insights on which pockets of the sector are offering the most job opportunities. Among the highlights:
• The most active hiring organizations across five development employer types.
• Which sectors and regions have been most resilient to the U.S. aid freeze.
• Where consultants can find the most new opportunities.
• Emerging foundations to know about, and much more.
Download: Who is still hiring in global development? (Career)
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In other news
Four people have died after throngs of people broke into a World Food Programme warehouse in Gaza. [The Guardian]
The Trump administration has canceled more than $700 million in contract awards to Moderna for the development of a bird flu vaccine. [Reuters]
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab has filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland for defamation and coercion against whistleblowers who accused him of financial misconduct and mishandling sexual harassment cases, following his resignation as chair of the forum's board last month. [Financial Times]
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About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
