In the wake of the abrupt closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and global retrenchment of foreign assistance, we find ourselves at a moment of both crisis and opportunity. We are experiencing a dramatic dismantling of the post WWII commitment to global cooperation and humanitarian values with almost daily disruptions challenging established global norms, policies, and practices.
Projections of the effects of the loss of U.S. foreign assistance on low- and middle-income countries are dire. The Gates Foundation estimates the loss of up to 16 million lives as a result of the cut off of life saving medicines. Today, medicines, agricultural seeds, and supplies; computers and laboratory equipment sit unused in warehouses across the Global South. Health clinics struggle to provide basic care to mothers and children who die of preventable diseases and malnutrition.
Yet, even in the face of these tectonic shifts in development assistance and geopolitical alliances, leaders from across the globe and an array of sectors are rising to meet the moment. In many countries in the Global South, national governments and civil society leaders are responding by calling for increased national budgets for health, education, and economic development. European leaders are forging new ties in trade and cooperation with India, China, ASEAN, and nations in the Middle East.
Looking Back
The roots of the current system of global governance were forged after the devastation of WWII in an effort to counter Russian hegemony and rebuild Europe. In the summer of 1941, representatives of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and nine exiled European governments met at St. James Palace in London to begin to craft a new world order declaring:
“The only true basis of enduring peace is the willing cooperation of free peoples in a world in which, relieved of the menace of aggression, all may enjoy economic and social security, and that it is their intention to work together, and with other free people, both in war and peace, to this end.”
The Declaration of St. James Palace, a precursor to the Declaration of the United Nations, brought forth principles of global cooperation and mutual support which largely framed the world order for the next eighty-five years. In 1948 U.S. Secretary of State George Catlett Marshall put forward the Marshall Plan to provide $13 Billion in economic assistance to rebuild European economies after WWII. Two decades later, Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and President John F. Kennedy created USAID, describing aid as a “power of strength” that enables the U.S. to support freedom globally.
The following decades saw the rise of the U.S. as the leading provider of foreign assistance globally and, to many, a beacon of progress and democracy worldwide, with portraits of JFK gracing the walls of homes in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Global foreign assistance has helped drive historic progress over the past two decades, cutting child mortality by 50% and extreme poverty by 40% worldwide.
Where We Are Today
Yet this progress now sits at a crossroads. Today, world leaders are stepping up to declare their continued commitment to a values-based global order and to new, mutually supportive alliances and coalitions. At the same time, we have an unprecedented moment of opportunity to design a system of global cooperation built on the principles of dignity, sovereignty and partnership.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated at the World Economic Forum (WEF) last month:
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. The multilateral institutions on which the middle powers have relied—the WTO, the UN, the COP—the very architecture of collective problem solving—are under threat…We need to build coalitions that work—issue by issue—with partners who share enough common ground to act together. It means building what we claim to believe in, rather than waiting for the old order to be restored.”
Many in the Global South see this as a powerful moment of opportunity to craft a new chapter of self-determination and sustainability with the bonds of dependency broken. Notably, on the sidelines of the 2025 United Nations General Assembly President John Mahama of Ghana announced “The Accra Reset” building on the August 2025 Africa Health Sovereignty Summit, calling for an overhaul of the global development, health and financing architecture moving from donor-dependent aid to self-determination, alignment with national priorities, and new sources of funding. President Mahama said:
“Our world as we know it is at an inflection point. Africa intends to be at the table in determining what the new global order will look like…The cracks in the global order are growing deeper. The world needs a reset, a re-engineering of the very logic of development.”
At the World Economic Forum in January 2026, more than thirteen former Heads of State and Prime Ministers joined a “Guardians Circle” for the Accra Reset and countries are already moving to mobilize African investment to fund health and other projects. Calling for a “sovereign prosperity spheres platform,” Mahama is proposing to link Africa’s sovereign wealth funds to development goals, as well as launching South-South exchange on key issues including manufacturing, technology, and the processing of critical minerals.
The Aspen Global Prosperity, Security, and Development High-Level Strategy Group
As nations, multilateral institutions, corporations, and civil society regroup to explore new models of global cooperation and partnership, the Aspen Global Prosperity, Security, and Development High-Level Strategy Group will convene in Bellagio, Italy to develop an action-oriented plan to help move forward to the next chapter for global cooperation and assistance. We will focus on four key pillars of action where we see experimentation and action that could provide footholds for a way forward. Each of the four pillars, listed below, show promise as key elements of a new approach to global development. The four pillars of inquiry and action are:
1). New Development Finance Models.
As the current U.S. administration moves away from traditional forms and principles of aid, foreign assistance is becoming more transactional, with increased emphasis on trade, infrastructure, and bilateral investments. Even as foreign aid has been reduced, the Global Fund, the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and the Millenium Challenge Corporation remain intact as tools of U.S. foreign assistance. As development assistance moves from an aid-driven to an investment-driven model, institutions and mechanisms such as DFC and the Global Fund are central to designing and testing new development finance approaches including blended finance, equity investments, political risk insurance, and other models.
2). Innovations in Scale, Efficiency, and Reach.
New innovations are increasingly critical for delivering sustained and scalable solutions in response to the growing aid funding gap. We need to be able to go farther, faster with innovative delivery, assistance, and intelligence models to meet critical needs at a lower cost and larger scale. Technological advances such as digital health platforms and automated delivery systems, community-based innovations such as increasing the scope and capacity of community health workers, maternal health “backpacks;” “greenhouses in a box;” and other innovations need to be identified and resourced for more efficiency and reach in meeting critical needs.
3). National Government Financing, Sustainability, and Civil Society Strategies.
Increasing national government financing for development will be integral to shift away from an aid-dependent model to greater domestic resource mobilization and more sustainable financing mechanisms. A number of countries in the Global South have stepped forward to increase elements of their national budgets hardest hit by reduced foreign aid and have committed to new approaches that are aligned with country priorities. Models of national investment, including investing in sustainable local institutions rather than projects, diaspora investments, regional alliances, and Global South philanthropy are all currently being explored and implemented.
4). New Models for Private Sector Partnerships.
A larger role for the private sector, and new types of public-private partnerships are essential components to a new development framework. Public-private partnerships allow governments and donors to tap into private sector financing and innovation while ensuring alignment with country goals. As the global aid landscape shifts towards an investment driven model, public-private partnerships will play a critical role in helping to fill financing gaps, scale innovation, increase efficiency, and create more resilient development systems.
Moving Forward
This moment calls for creative problem solving and a generous open-source approach to identifying new models and strategies. We know that our deliberations build on decades of cooperation and assistance which have resulted in increased economic growth, security, and advancements in global health. As we begin our discussions, the challenge lies in holding onto shared values of equality and sovereignty while applying a pragmatic realism and depth of experience to the development of new approaches. Our task together is to find footholds that propel us forward to a new chapter in global cooperation and development to build a more prosperous and secure world.
