David Malpass’ resignation gives the Biden administration an opening to bring on a new World Bank chief to lead a massive reform effort and, perhaps, be more closely aligned with the administration’s positions on climate change.
Also in today’s edition: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is pressuring world leaders to let it into the global Pandemic Fund.
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Malpass told the World Bank’s board on Wednesday that he plans to step down as president in June — nearly a year before his term is slated to end in April 2024. The Trump-administration nominee’s abrupt announcement comes after four years of leading the bank through multiple and overlapping crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, a global food crisis, and most recently the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
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He was often met with skepticism within the global development sector. There were efforts to oust him, particularly from climate activists — and this reached a crescendo over remarks he made in September on whether he believed that humans caused climate change. However, he survived his “I am not a scientist” gaffe and battled on. Notably, despite his words, the bank doubled its climate finance during his tenure, reaching nearly $32 billion last year, my colleague Shabtai Gold tells me.
Still, his departure provides an opportunity for United States President Joe Biden to put more of his own stamp on the bank and perhaps find someone more aligned with his party’s views.
“Humankind needs the head of the World Bank to fully recognize and creatively respond to the civilization-threatening danger posed by the climate crisis. I am very happy to hear that new leadership is coming,” tweeted former U.S. Vice President Al Gore — a public nemesis of Malpass. Gore, like Biden, is a Democrat.
In a statement in which she commended Malpass for having “measurably improved the lives of people around the globe,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pledged to have a “transparent, merit-based and swift nomination process” to replace him. Many are wondering if the candidate pool will include a woman, Shabtai notes. The person will almost certainly hold U.S. citizenship, as per a controversial tradition.
Experts looked back on Malpass’ legacy during a Twitter Spaces event hosted by Devex on Wednesday, but, looking ahead to the Spring Meetings, they warned it would be critical that World Bank shareholders ensure the leadership change doesn’t derail the bank’s ongoing reform efforts. Momentum is as crucial as anything in politics.
Given the “crisis of confidence and trust in our international institutions” it is important that the World Bank enacts “meaningful change and have really meaningful impact on the ground,” said Clemence Landers, a former U.S. Treasury official.
Read: Embattled World Bank chief Malpass to resign as president in June
ICYMI: The good, bad, and meh in the World Bank’s reform plan 
 Be sure to check out the recording of our Twitter Spaces conversation with Landers and other global development leaders about some of the critical issues facing the next World Bank president.
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Africa CDC won’t have access to the pool of pandemic preparedness and response financing being made available to low- and middle-income countries through the Pandemic Fund, which is hosted by the World Bank and led by the World Health Organization. That’s because Africa CDC, which is in the process of becoming an autonomous public health agency, has not been accredited as an “implementing entity,” my colleague Sara Jerving reports.
What this means is that Africa CDC cannot submit a proposal for consideration for the $300 million in first-round funding approved by the Pandemic Fund earlier this month.
“This has considerably constrained the ability of Africa CDC, in the context of the Pandemic Fund, to play its AU-mandated role as convenor and coordinator of health security in Africa,” the pan-African health agency wrote in a statement on Wednesday.
The fund’s current preaccredited implementing partners include the African Development Bank, UNICEF, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, among others.
Read: Africa CDC criticizes exclusion from Pandemic Fund
ICYMI: Africa CDC’s final steps to operational autonomy
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As Africa CDC pushes for a bigger voice globally, it should also consider making a bigger internal push for gender equity by appointing its first female head and integrating “gender-transformative leadership” within the organization, a group of African women global health leaders write in an op-ed for Devex.
In addition to tapping a woman as its next leader, the group is calling for the African Union, Africa CDC, and its member states to set targets for equal inclusion of women in senior decision-making at all levels and make “a gender-responsive approach” central to the design and resourcing of future pandemics’ health emergency policies.
African heads of state gather this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the annual African Union summit and those familiar with the processes tell Devex it’s expected the AU will make an announcement on who will take on the role of Africa CDC’s director-general.
Opinion: Why Africa CDC needs gender-transformative leadership
 For more content like this, sign up to Devex CheckUp, a free, Thursday global health newsletter.
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A different kind of animal
Animals can be as susceptible as humans to the deadly impacts of climate change such as the droughts that have plagued the Horn of Africa. In Ethiopia alone, more than 4.5 million livestock have died since late 2021.
Those kinds of losses are detrimental for farmers, especially smallholder farmers, who depend on the animals for their livelihood. That’s why some agricultural research organizations are seeking ways to develop cattle, goats, pigs and other animals that can not only survive but thrive in some of the worst conditions, my colleague Teresa Welsh reports.
The World Poultry Foundation is examining the benefits of dual-purpose poultry, which can provide meat and eggs and are more likely to survive drought than traditional breeds.
“In terms of getting high quality protein to families that need it, it’s a lower footprint way to do it than traditional production methods,” says Maureen Stickel, director of international program development at the World Poultry Foundation.
The foundation has received $26 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand the use of dual-purpose poultry to three countries.
Read: How drought-resistant livestock can help farmers fight climate change
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The United Kingdom has pledged £33 million, or roughly $39 million, to launch the new Sahel Regional Fund. It will provide humanitarian aid to people “suffering from rising violence, displacement and food insecurity” in Africa’s Sahel region, which includes Chad and Mauritania.
The U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will be working with local and international NGOs to deliver aid and combat growing instability from conflict, climate change, extremism and high food prices that have been “exacerbated by Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine,” according to an FCDO statement. The announcement follows development minister Andrew Mitchell’s three-day visit to Niger.
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The U.N. is appealing for $5.6 billion in humanitarian aid for Ukraine. [DW]
India wants debt relief discussion to be prioritized at upcoming talks with the Group of 20 major economies’ finance and central bank chiefs. [Reuters]
The International Organization for Migration launched an $84 million appeal to assist more than 1 million migrants moving through Yemen. [Al Jazeera]
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Thank you for reading today’s Newswire, edited by Rumbi Chakamba, copy edited by Florence Williams, and produced by Patricia Guerrero. Have a news tip? Email stephanie.beasley@devex.com.
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