USAID has been eliminated and much of its funding to development projects has ended. The UK and other governments have cut development spending as well. This continues to impact the US-based international development sector. And, with it, the prospect of people lifting themselves from poverty as they have for the past 50 years.
That’s not the only trend shaping how and where international development groups work. The long tail of decolonization, more recent “resource imperialism,” impacts of extreme weather, US tariffs, China’s efforts to expand its reach and influence—these and more have and will continue to shape the development landscape.
Kate Schecter has witnessed and participated in “globalization” for decades. Kate worked in health systems development in Eastern and Central Europe after the fall of the USSR. She was also a consultant with the World Bank, focused on health care and child welfare in former Soviet republics, including Ukraine. Kate, who has a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University, has lived in the former USSR and Japan and lived and taught in Israel. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
For the past decade, Kate has served as CEO of World Neighbors, an international NGO with projects in 14 low-income countries. These include Guatemala, Bolivia, Haiti, Tanzania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Kenya, India and Nepal. Next April World Neighbors will celebrate its 75th anniversary. The Oklahoma City-based organization and its community-based savings and credit model have survived many changes in national and international policies.
I think you might find interesting a discussion with Dr. Schecter about the trends impacting global economic development as we near 2026, and what might be done to improve outcomes for everyone.
