A Major Study Finds Giving Pregnant Women Cash Massively Improves Children's Health
A new study out of Kenya shows that one of the most impactful ways to reduce infant and child mortality is to provide cash—no strings attached—to pregnant women. A randomized controlled trial by economists from UC Berkeley and Oxford University found that unconditional cash transfers reduced infant mortality by 48% and under-5 child mortality by 45% in rural Kenya. These results suggest that this intervention is as impactful for improving child health as the provision of vaccines or antimalarial drugs. I'm joined today by Dr. Miriam Laker-Oketta, Senior Research Advisor at GiveDirectly, the nonprofit that carried out the cash transfers on which this research is based. In our conversation, Dr. Laker-Oketta explains why well-timed cash transfers to women late in pregnancy can so dramatically improve health outcomes. She also discusses how this new study adds to the growing body of evidence on the impact of unconditional cash transfers for people living in poverty in the developing world—and why such interventions are logistically simple yet politically difficult to scale. Support our work with a paid subscription to Global Dispatches! https://www.globaldispatches.org/
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How Global Development Finance Deals Can Actually Drive Local Impact | Future of Africa Episode 3
Making promises on financing for development is the easy part. Following through on them is hard. Ambassador Chola Milambo speaks frankly about turning global financing commitments into tangible benefits for African communities. Chidi Okpala highlights the role of innovative private-sector partnerships, while Tumi Mkhizi Malebo offers a youth perspective on making finance work for the next generation and Nabila Ageule emphasizes the particularly important role of young women. Together, they map out what it takes to bridge the gap between conference promises and action on the ground, from transparency and inclusive planning to youth-led monitoring of how funds are actually spent. If you’ve ever wondered why big financial agreements rarely reach the people they’re meant to serve, this episode offers both the diagnosis and the solution. Guests Ambassador Dr. Chola Milambo, Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Chidi Okpala, Executive Director of Group Integration and Strategy, Heirs Holdings Nabila Aguele, Chief Executive, Nigeria at the Malala Fund Tumi Mkhize Malebo, United Nations Foundation Partnerships Next Generation Fellow Background Materials Africa: Unlocking Africa's Future - The Imperative of Domestic Resource Mobilization, All Africa Foresight Africa: Top Priorities of the Continent 2025-2030, Brookings Institution Our Future Agenda Quarterly Rewriting the Rules of Finance, Our Future Agenda
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Can a Series of Global AI Summits Actually Shape the Rules that will Govern the World’s most Powerful Technology?
In 2023, the United Kingdom hosted the world’s first major international summit on the risks of advanced artificial intelligence. That Bletchley Park gathering kicked off a series of high-profile summits — in Seoul in 2024, in Paris earlier this year, and with India set to host the next in 2026. But here’s the big question: are these summits actually building the guardrails the world needs to keep AI safe — or are they falling short? My guest today, Robert F. Trager, says the answer depends on whether this summit series is reformed. Trager is Co-Director of the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, which recently published a roadmap for how the AI Summit Series can live up to its potential. We dig into those recommendations, and we also take stock of what these summits have accomplished so far — and what’s at stake if they fail. This episode was supported through a grant from the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism Report mentioned: The Future of the AI Summit Series
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The Climate, Peace & Security Nexus | Future of Africa Episode 2
What does it mean to make peace with nature — and why could that be the key to lasting peace between people? Former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos shares the extraordinary indigenous mandate that shaped his leadership, while Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim explains how climate shocks in Africa are driving conflict and migration. Khouloud Ben Mansour brings in the youth, peace, and security lens, stressing that climate justice must include women and young leaders at the table. Across the conversation, you’ll hear why African knowledge systems are vital to global climate solutions, and how reframing climate as a security issue could shift the way the world responds. Guests Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Chair of the Planetary Guardians and President of the Indigenous Women and Peoples Association of Chad Khouloud Ben Mansour, Tunisian junior diplomat and former African Union Youth Ambassador of Peace Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Chair of The Elders Background Materials Cooperation on Climate, Peace and Security is Needed Now, The Elders Africa Climate Security Risk Assessment, Africa Union Planetary Health Check, Planetary Guardians
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What We Can Expect from the Putin-Trump Alaska Summit
The past week has seen a frenzy of diplomatic activity on Ukraine, culminating in Donald Trump’s extraordinary announcement that he will host Vladimir Putin in Alaska for talks on the war. Setting aside the propriety of Putin visiting the United States (he launched this war of aggression and is wanted by the ICC for the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children) what could such a summit actually achieve? Would Ukraine really be willing to trade land for a ceasefire? And would Putin simply use a pause in hostilities to regroup? I put these questions and more to Evelyn Farkas, a longtime Ukraine specialist who is now the CEO of the McCain Institute. We spoke just hours before Trump announced the Alaska summit and we kick off with a discussion about the current state-of-play of the conflict on the ground before discussing the prospects of a diplomatic solution to this conflict.
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