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Center for Global Development
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The leading think-and-do tank for #globaldev🌍 Celebrating 20+ years of independent research & ideas for global prosperity.
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Follow us here for our latest work on reducing global poverty & improving lives through innovative economic research that drives better policy.🌍
www.cgdev.org
Center For Global Development
The Center for Global Development works to reduce global poverty and improve lives through innovative economic research that drives better policy & practice.
www.cgdev.org
Thailand and Malaysia host hundreds of thousands of refugees but have long restricted access to work.

Recent policy shifts could improve refugee self-reliance while helping both countries address labor shortages. More from Harrison Tang and @thomasginn.bsky.social:
https://go.cgdev.org/3MBkOPx
A Breakthrough for Refugees’ Work Rights in Thailand and Malaysia?
CGD’s Migration and Displacement program has highlighted practical, medium-term strategies to benefit Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, where refugees face severe limitations on th...
go.cgdev.org
December 25, 2025 at 8:49 PM
"We don’t need perfect foresight before the next pandemic. But we would benefit greatly from better visibility into how global vaccine manufacturing works—and where it could break down."

@mcdonnell.bsky.social & Asti Shafira on global vaccine manufacturing capacity:
https://go.cgdev.org/4s3PAAA
Assessing Global Vaccine Manufacturing Capacity: Six Blind Spots and Six Ways Forward
When the next pandemic hits, the question won’t just be whether scientists can design a vaccine quickly. We’ll also want to know whether the world can manufacture that vaccine at speed and scale, and ...
go.cgdev.org
December 25, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Reposted by Center for Global Development
"There is little doubt many people have died." The authors are careful and convincing: 1 to 1.5 million people, mostly in Africa in 2025. My heart goes out to mothers who lost DOGE babies.
December 23, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Green Horizons is refining its mission.🌱

Hosted by Talent Beyond Boundaries, the initiative aims to mobilize climate capital and scale green skills mobility so displaced talent can help meet urgent labor needs in the green transition. Learn more:
https://go.cgdev.org/3LeMHMQ
Green Horizons: Mobilizing Climate Capital to Support Safe Routes for Green-Skilled Displaced People
In 2026, Green Horizons will focus on raising catalytic capital for green skills initiatives from green donors, such as climate philanthropists and workforce funders with a green focus, and investors....
go.cgdev.org
December 24, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Eight new US health MOUs with sub-Saharan African governments mark the clearest signal yet of the Trump administration’s approach to global health assistance. @JocilynEstes and @jmadankeller.bsky.social break down what’s known and what’s at stake:
https://go.cgdev.org/3Y8YDTi
What We Know—and Don’t Know—About the Trump Administration’s Global Health Agreements
The State Department has announced an initial set of bilateral health cooperation agreements, signing eight memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with governments in sub-Saharan Africa. These compacts a...
www.cgdev.org
December 23, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Congress has reauthorized the US International Development Finance Corporation, expanding its resources and remit.

@ecollinson.bsky.social explains why translating this firepower into real development impact will depend on leadership, implementation, & oversight:
https://go.cgdev.org/4qt7JX7
DFC Reauthorization: What's New and What It Means
The reauthorization of the US International Development Finance Corporation marks a significant moment for agency, with Congress expanding both its resources and its remit. Whether the agency can leve...
go.cgdev.org
December 23, 2025 at 5:29 PM
This year, the Trump administration announced it would pledge $3.2 billion to IDA21 over the next three years.

Nico Martinez and Jocilyn Estes provide an update into #IDA21—covering the role of the US, how financing is delivered, the future agenda, & more:
https://go.cgdev.org/4pRMa2p
The ABCs of the IFIs: IDA21 Update
The International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessional window, plays a central role in financing development in low- and lower-middle-income countries. As one of the largest so...
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December 23, 2025 at 5:05 PM
The projected death toll from USAID program cancellations is rising.

New analysis by @charlesjkenny.bsky.social and @justsand.bsky.social finds current cuts could cost 1 million lives now, and even more with future reductions.
https://go.cgdev.org/4s0Z8w7
Update on Lives Lost from USAID Cuts
In this blog, we report on an update to our earlier estimates of the potential mortality impacts of the administration’s aid cuts. A similar approach to our original estimates using financial data to ...
go.cgdev.org
December 22, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Have you listened to the latest CGD podcast?

In this ep., Anita Käppeli & @ianmitchell1.bsky.social discuss the 2025 Commitment to Development Index; why countries have slipped in their contributions, how the CDI can guide better policymaking, and more.

Tune in 🎧⬇️
https://go.cgdev.org/3MoUeJl
CGD Podcast: Inside the 2025 Commitment to Development Index with Ian Mitchell
In this episode, I speak with Ian Mitchell, the lead author of the 2025 Commitment to Development Index (CDI), about what this year’s results reveal. We discuss why many countries have slipped in thei...
go.cgdev.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The current development system no longer meets today’s challenges. The new Future of Development Cooperation Coalition will deliver a bold, practical vision that reflects shared interests of all countries at a new table of equal partnerships.💡

More from Alexia Latortue:
https://go.cgdev.org/48Q7nmg
A Reflection on Lions: The New Future of Development Cooperation Coalition
In this moment of crisis—and retrenchment—there is also opportunity. An opportunity to confront hypocrisies, correct structural biases, and rethink how development cooperation works. We must build a n...
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December 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Center for Global Development
December 19, 2025 at 10:55 PM
In a new blog, Johann Harnoss argues it's time for countries to treat the attraction and retention of highly skilled talent as a core policy lever for growth, global competitiveness, and fiscal resilience:
https://go.cgdev.org/4s9UL28
Global Talent Mobility in 2025: Slowing and Shifting
It’s time for countries to treat the attraction and retention of highly skilled talent as a core policy lever for growth, global competitiveness, and fiscal resilience.
www.cgdev.org
December 19, 2025 at 9:45 PM
In a new study, @eeshani.bsky.social & fellow experts ask: What does life look like for northern Ugandan women who were taken as children and are now adults?

20 years on, the study finds lasting psychological & social impacts that economic measures often miss:
https://go.cgdev.org/49j4n31
From Childhood Abduction to Adulthood: What 20 Years Reveal About Women in Northern Uganda
Two decades after the LRA left northern Uganda, its legacy of abduction lives on in the daily emotional experiences of the girls–now women– that they abducted. Addressing that legacy requires policy c...
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December 19, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Women in LMICs spend nearly 30hrs a week on unpaid domestic work, compared to under 10 for men.

Alba Loureiro & Kehinde Ajayi share that infrastructure investments like clean cooking fuels & water access can cut domestic drudgery and encourage better health and income:
https://go.cgdev.org/3MHOgTW
What We Know About Decreasing Domestic Drudgery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
If you had an extra 20 hours a week, what would you do? Learn a new skill? Earn more money? Rest? For many women in low- and middle-income countries, that extra time isn’t a luxury—it’s tied up in unp...
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December 19, 2025 at 6:57 PM
"In this new landscape, Europe has little choice but to pursue new partnerships & forge new strategic alliances."

@JuergenZattler argues development policy can be a strategic tool for Europe, especially Germany, to build mutually beneficial partnerships:
https://go.cgdev.org/48Lg2HN
Rethinking Development Policy: Reconciling National Interest, Impact, and Partner Priorities
National interests, partner orientation, and development impact are not mutually exclusive. Reconciliation is possible. But achieving it will require substantial changes in how development agencies wo...
go.cgdev.org
December 19, 2025 at 10:49 AM
As Germany considers how to implement major aid cuts, experts from CGD & the German Institute of Development and Sustainability explore how it can maximize impact with fewer resources.

A focus on key themes, partner countries, & instruments would deliver greater impact:
https://go.cgdev.org/44tX2Lm
How to Deprioritise? Selecting Themes, Countries and Instruments for German Development Policy
Germany is making steep reductions to its aid budget. Historically, it has struggled to deprioritise, with cuts spread evenly across programmes and countries. In this paper, we show how BMZ can deprio...
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December 19, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Military spending has surged worldwide.

In a new blog, Sanjeev Gupta discusses the likely implications of reallocating public resources toward defense, and why it marks a clear shift in global fiscal priorities 💰⬇️
https://go.cgdev.org/44C9rNk
From Peace Dividend to Defense Buildup: Fiscal Implications of Rising Military Spending
Military spending has surged worldwide in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and growing tensions in Asia and the Middle East. This resurgence comes just as global public debt has climbe...
go.cgdev.org
December 18, 2025 at 7:49 PM
As aid budgets shrink, allowing refugees to work is more important than ever. #MigrantsDay

Harrison Tang & @thomasginn.bsky.social highlight Thailand and Malaysia’s recent openness to expanding refugee work rights & what it could mean for self-reliance and development:
https://go.cgdev.org/3MBkOPx
A Breakthrough for Refugees’ Work Rights in Thailand and Malaysia?
CGD’s Migration and Displacement program has highlighted practical, medium-term strategies to benefit Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, where refugees face severe limitations on th...
go.cgdev.org
December 18, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Over the past two years, @CGDev experts have produced research on the global vaccine manufacturing ecosystem.💉

@jmadankeller.bsky.social & Rosie Eldridge distill six key takeaways from the research, including insights on political attention, uncertain demands, & more:
https://go.cgdev.org/4rXvcRD
The Unfinished Agenda on Diversifying Vaccine Manufacturing: Six Takeaways from CGD Research
The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the asymmetries of the global vaccine landscape. This blog distills takeaways from recent CGD analysis, highlighting unresolved questions and technical, political, and ...
go.cgdev.org
December 18, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Today marks #InternationalMigrantsDay!

Explore CGD's new interactive map, where experts highlight projects that pair training and migration to expand the clean-energy workforce:
https://go.cgdev.org/3YoNDkA
December 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM
@mcdonnell.bsky.social & Asti Shafira have published a paper on what the world currently knows—and doesn’t know—about global vaccine manufacturing capacity.

Here are six issues to worry about before the next pandemic, followed by six actions that could fix them:
https://go.cgdev.org/4s3PAAA
Assessing Global Vaccine Manufacturing Capacity: Six Blind Spots and Six Ways Forward
When the next pandemic hits, the question won’t just be whether scientists can design a vaccine quickly. We’ll also want to know whether the world can manufacture that vaccine at speed and scale, and ...
go.cgdev.org
December 17, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Earlier estimates suggested USAID program cancellations could lead to up to 700,000 additional deaths annually.

New analysis by @charlesjkenny.bsky.social and @justsand.bsky.social finds the toll could reach 1 million now and 1.6 million with future cuts. Learn more:
https://go.cgdev.org/4s0Z8w7
Update on Lives Lost from USAID Cuts
In this blog, we report on an update to our earlier estimates of the potential mortality impacts of the administration’s aid cuts. A similar approach to our original estimates using financial data to ...
go.cgdev.org
December 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
FCDO's internal “best buy” documents identify which interventions deliver the greatest impact—but aren't publicly available.

Euan Ritchie makes the case for publishing them to support partners and improve systems:
https://go.cgdev.org/4q8qsa6
FCDO’s Best Buys Deserve a Larger Audience
FCDO has produced several sectoral documents specifying which types of interventions are likely to be most cost-effective based on a review of evidence— known as “best buys.” These documents—while imp...
www.cgdev.org
December 17, 2025 at 6:50 PM
🗓️CGD's second Annual Research Conference on Global Lead Exposure will take place on June 2026 3 & 4 in London!

✉️Consider this an invitation to submit your work for presentation and discussion at the conference. Learn more and submit here! ⬇️
https://go.cgdev.org/4oqleVX
Call For Submissions: Second Annual Research Conference on Global Lead Exposure
We’re pleased to announce that the Center for Global Development (CGD) will be holding its second Annual Research Conference on Global Lead Exposure on Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 June 2026, in London—...
go.cgdev.org
December 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
The G20’s first summit in Africa marked a milestone, but the group’s durability and utility are uncertain as the US prepares to host in 2026.

Mary Svenstrup argues that if the US can manage its own political turbulence, it has an opportunity to rightsize the G20:
https://go.cgdev.org/3XGYfev
G20 2026: Cohesion or Chaos?
The recent G20 summit in Johannesburg was historic—it was the group’s first meeting in Africa and concluded its first rotation. But this summit will also go down as notorious for being boycotted by th...
go.cgdev.org
December 16, 2025 at 9:03 PM