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Visionary Voices

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The challenges facing developing countries – from providing clean water to fighting infectious diseases – are jeopardizing their economic growth prospects, on which the global economy’s health increasingly depends. Project Syndicate, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, provides analysis of the trends and debates shaping developing countries’ potential – and the global economy’s prospects.

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  1. How Should Africa Respond to Foreign-Aid Cuts?
    nsofor11_GUY PETERSONAFP via Getty Images_africadoctors Guy Peterson/AFP via Getty Images

    How Should Africa Respond to Foreign-Aid Cuts?

    Apr 11, 2025 Ifeanyi M. Nsofor touts the potential of foreign remittances to sustain public services as external support shrinks.

  2. This UN Debt Initiative Is Different
    mohieldin33_Xie EXinhuaGettyImages_guterres_debt_report Xie E/Xinhua/Getty Images

    This UN Debt Initiative Is Different

    Apr 2, 2025 Mahmoud Mohieldin, et al. tout an Expert Group’s efforts to prevent a full-blown solvency crisis in developing countries.

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  4. Philanthropy in an Era of Declining Development Aid
    wmoore1_Sofiia PetrovaGetty Images_babyvitamins Sofiia Petrova/Getty Images

    Philanthropy in an Era of Declining Development Aid

    Mar 31, 2025 William Moore urges practitioners and policymakers to focus on already proven, scalable solutions.

  5. Financial Inclusion Must Reach the Last Billion
    fengler4_SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_africadigitalbank Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images

    Financial Inclusion Must Reach the Last Billion

    Mar 25, 2025 Wolfgang Fengler explains why economic growth alone is not enough to extend the ladder of opportunity to all.

  6. Trump’s War on Foreign Aid and the Rise of Transactional Diplomacy
    simons2_Fadel SennaGettyImages_uae_foreign_aid Fadel Senna/Getty Images

    Trump’s War on Foreign Aid and the Rise of Transactional Diplomacy

    Mar 19, 2025 Bright Simons highlights the global implications of the administration’s decision to shut down USAID.

Our Pick

Featured

  1. gebert5_Amir LevyGetty Images_netanyahuprotest Amir Levy/Getty Images
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    Will Qatari Gold Sink Netanyahu?

    Konstanty Gebert

    Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to fire the country's internal security chief has raised suspicions, given that the move comes just after the launch of an investigation into a new scandal involving his own aides. Israelis are right to worry that they could now be heading for a constitutional crisis.

     explains the latest scandal to hit Israel's increasingly illiberal, norm-breaking government.
  2. khrushcheva191_Anna MoneymakerGettyImages_steve_witkoff Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    0

    The US and Russia Are Negotiating in Bad Faith

    Nina L. Khrushcheva thinks the Kremlin is laying the groundwork for a highly favorable deal on the Ukraine war.
  3. schaake12_Thierry MonasseGettyImages_henna_virkkunen Thierry Monasse/Getty Images
    0

    Europe’s Tech Sovereignty Demands More Than Competitiveness

    Marietje Schaake & Max von Thun warn that the European Union’s deregulatory push could undermine its autonomy and fundamental values.
  4. nsofor11_GUY PETERSONAFP via Getty Images_africadoctors Guy Peterson/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    How Should Africa Respond to Foreign-Aid Cuts?

    Ifeanyi M. Nsofor touts the potential of foreign remittances to sustain public services as external support shrinks.
  5. huang6_Sawayasu TsujiGettyImages_china_tariffs Sawayasu Tsuji/Getty Images
    0

    How Should China Respond to Trump’s Tariffs?

    Huang Yiping urges Chinese policymakers to fill the leadership vacuum created by America’s protectionist turn.
  6. oneill132_Feature ChinaFuture Publishing via Getty Images_chinashopping Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images
    0

    Who Will Drive the Post-American Global Economy?

    Jim O'Neill considers what other large economies can do to offset the effects of the Trump administration's trade warfare.
  7. op_fofack4_Irwin Wong for The Washington Post via Getty Images_elderlypersonworking Irwin Wong for The Washington Post via Getty Images
    0

    Health Is Wealth in a Geriatric World

    Hippolyte Fofack

    The Global South is increasingly at risk of growing old before becoming rich, which implies huge social and economic costs. To avert this outcome, the Hevolution Foundation, a nonprofit backed by the Saudi royal family, has begun to support research focused on lengthening healthspans – the period of life spent in good health.

     explains why increasing “healthspans” to match lifespans is a moral and economic imperative.
  8. przybylski2_Alexander KoernerGetty Images_germanyarmy Alexander Koerner/Getty Images
    0

    Europe’s Democrats Must Forge a Will to Fight

    Wojciech Przybylski & Goran Buldioski think European leaders' most urgent security task is to nurture citizens' resolve to defend their countries.
  9. mazzucato81_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_javiermileichainsaw Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images
    2

    Governments Are Not Startups

    Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel explain why ongoing efforts to run the state like a business are doomed to fail.

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