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Presented by Gates Foundation |The Trump administration’s controversial pick for UN refugee deputy chief.
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The Iran war and subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz have cut off not only supplies of oil and gas, but also fertilizer. The United Nations is formulating a plan to use that fertilizer as a diplomatic jump-off point to head off a global food crisis. Also in today’s edition: The development job market is tightening as funding pressures bite. At the same time, employers are sharing more about pay. For candidates, that means higher stakes — but better information.  Happening today at 12 p.m. ET: Join us for a Pro Funding Briefing with Chung-Wha Hong of Grassroots International, a funding network, and Kyra Busch from CS Fund, one of Grassroots International’s institutional funders, to understand more about solidarity philanthropy and what funding social movements rather than just programs entails. Register here.This event is exclusively for Devex Pro members. If you aren’t one yet, you can start your 15-day free trial today. 
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Loosening the chokehold
The U.N. has a new idea to ease tensions in the Gulf — start with fertilizer.
As the Iran war drags on and the world feels the pain of the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is backing a plan to restart fertilizer trade as a way to avert a looming food crisis — and maybe open the door to broader cooperation in the region. “The closure of the Strait of Hormuz since 2 March has triggered a critical disruption to global fertilizer supply chains, affecting more than one-quarter of globally trade volumes,” a confidential U.N. paper warns. The knock-on effect: rising costs, lower yields, and growing humanitarian need. Guterres has tapped envoy Jean Arnault to lead the effort, warning the stakes are immediate, Senior Global Reporter Colum Lynch scoops. “The prolonged closure of the Strait is choking the movement of oil, gas, and fertilizer at a critical moment in the global planting season,” Guterres says. “Without fertilizers today, we might have hunger tomorrow.” The idea echoes the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal that Ukraine and Russia signed in 2022 — which used trade as a diplomatic sweetener. But this time, it’s far from clear if the parties — Iran, the U.S., and Israel — are interested. Still, some see it as one of the few viable paths to an eventual off-ramp. “The UN may be the only actor with the legitimacy and technical flexibility to take on this role,” Daniel Forti, U.N. representative for the International Crisis Group, tells Colum. The plan would set up a coordination hub in Oman to monitor shipments, verify cargo, and prevent accidental attacks on commercial vessels — a first step toward restoring flows of fertilizer, humanitarian goods, and potentially more. Big caveat: It’s complicated. Sanctions, inspections, and the sheer volume of ships could slow things down — and the U.N. is clear it won’t guarantee cargo beyond its checks. Still, with planting season looming, the pitch is simple: Get fertilizer moving now — or risk a much bigger food crisis later. Scoop: Inside UN plan to restore fertilizer trade on Strait of Hormuz |
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A message from Gates Foundation
Hear from leading voices tackling neglected tropical diseases More than 1 billion people are still affected by neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs — a diverse group of conditions that disproportionately impact the world’s most overlooked and hardest-to-reach communities. We offer new voices a platform, spotlight the remarkable progress happening at an impressive rate, and celebrate ways leaders are disrupting the status quo toward eliminating NTDs. Explore the series site and stay tuned for regular updates. |
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Transparency up, jobs down
The development job market had a rough 2025 — fewer jobs, tighter budgets — but at least one thing improved: People are finally telling you what they pay.
Job postings on Devex dropped by about 27% compared to 2024. But salary transparency jumped, with around 40% of roughly 60,000 roles including pay data, up from 30% the year before. The not-so-great news? Salaries are heading the wrong way. Average annual ranges fell to $93,362–$114,353, down from $103,942–$126,158 — a shift likely tied to the ripple effects of U.S. aid cuts. At the top, though, it’s still big money. Executive roles dominate the highest-paid jobs, especially in North America, with top posts — foundation presidents, senior advisers — pulling in well north of $700,000 annually. Beyond that, it’s a mixed bag, writes Justin Sablich for Devex in a special career report. Some roles, such as political affairs and human rights officers, still pay well — but there are fewer of them. Where you are matters too: The U.S. still leads on both job volume and salaries, while places such as Switzerland offer high pay but fewer openings. There are a couple of curveballs. Mid-level roles are now slightly out-earning senior ones on average (though that may just be the data playing tricks), and short-term contracts are having a moment — now the most common roles with salary data, and the best paid when annualized. The vibe for 2026? A tougher market, yes — but with far fewer mysteries when it comes to what your job is actually worth. Download the report: Everything you need to know about development job salaries in 2025 
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A Devex Career Account gives you the insights development professionals use to stay competitive, with exclusive analyses, expert career events, and practical guidance on where opportunities are emerging and how to position yourself — now at up to 75% off, this the perfect time to act and position yourself ahead of the competition. Claim your discount now, offer ends soon.
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Asylum provocateur
The Trump administration is lining up a controversial pick for a top U.N. refugee job.
It has nominated Heritage Foundation analyst Simon Hankinson to be deputy U.N. high commissioner for refugees — a role traditionally held by an American — putting a sharp critic of asylum policy in contention for one of the system’s most influential posts, according to three sources that spoke to Devex. The final decision rests with Guterres. Hankinson, a former U.S. State Department official, has been blunt about his views. In a recent essay, he argued refugee and asylum law “no longer serves the national interest,” warning that an “overly generous interpretation” of the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention has driven the “collapse” of asylum systems in the U.S. and Europe. He’s also called for a wholesale reset: “The post-1951 process needs rebuilding from scratch.” Since leaving government, he’s taken an increasingly combative tone — criticizing Biden-era immigration policies and positioning himself as a cultural and political provocateur. “I lick every third rail, from, you know, fat acceptance to gender ideology,” he said in a podcast interview. If confirmed, his appointment would signal a sharp shift in tone — and potentially direction — at the top of the global refugee system. Exclusive: Trump proposes asylum critic for top UN refugee post |
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Sponsored by Gilead Sciences and Elton John AIDS Foundation
What will it take to reverse HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia?
In this special podcast episode, Kate Warren and Denys Denysenko discuss how the RADIAN partnership between the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Gilead Sciences is combating one of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. |
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A win for food safety
A quiet force behind the world’s food rules is getting his moment.
Huub Lelieveld, a Dutch scientist who has spent six decades pushing for science-based food safety, has been named the 2026 World Food Prize winner — often dubbed the Nobel of food and agriculture. His focus: Cut through politics and align global standards so safe food actually reaches people. “It was a complete surprise,” the 82-year-old Lelieveld says of the award in an interview with Devex. “I wasn’t aware of the prize when it was first explained to me. … But it was an honor and a complete surprise.” The stakes are real, writes Senior Editor Tania Karas. Unsafe food causes around 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths each year. But inconsistent — and often politicized — regulations can mean shipments get blocked or dumped at borders even when the food is safe. Lelieveld has been blunt about that, calling out “(pseudo)scientists who make money by scaring people,” and regulations based on “alternative facts” — falsehoods — instead of food science. His drive traces back to a 2002 crisis in southern Africa, when food aid sat in ports over disputes about safety standards while people went hungry. “There was news about thousands of people in the south of Africa dying, literally dying, every day because of the lack of food,” Lelieveld says. “Well, there was food in the harbors, but because of regulation issues — I found that absolutely absurd and unacceptable, and nobody did something about it, so I thought we should.” “We can’t save the world,” he says. “But we can do little bits.” Read: Dutch scientist behind global safe food drive wins World Food Prize |
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‘Ethically indefensible’
About 90 organizations have called on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to clarify and publicly reject any attempts by the State Department to withhold HIV and other lifesaving aid to Zambia as a means to pressure the country into signing a critical minerals deal with the U.S. government.
“We urge you to immediately clarify that the U.S. will not resort to this abhorrent tactic,” they write in a letter, adding that an estimated 1.3 million Zambians rely on the U.S. global AIDS initiative PEPFAR’s support to access HIV treatments, and tens of thousands more benefit from U.S. support in combating malaria and tuberculosis in the country. They say using these programs as a tool to gain an advantage in trade negotiations with Zambia “is ethically indefensible,” Senior Reporter Jenny Lei Ravelo tells me. The plea follows a New York Times report last week that the State Department is considering withholding lifesaving health assistance to Zambia as a negotiating tactic on critical minerals negotiations, based on a draft memo prepared for Rubio.  Listen: In the latest episode of our podcast, This Week in Global Development, Jenny joins colleagues Rumbi Chakamba and Andrew Green to unpack the week’s biggest global health stories — including whether PEPFAR is running out of money.
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In other news
Two sailboats carrying humanitarian supplies to Cuba have gone missing in the Caribbean, with Mexico deploying naval and air assets to locate the vessels and its nine crew members. [BBC]
The U.S. State Department has drawn $1.25 billion from international disaster relief and peacekeeping funds to finance Trump’s Board of Peace, which critics say lacks transparency over how it spends its money. [Semafor] Turkey has dropped its opposition to the World Trade Organization’s Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, which aims to reduce bureaucratic hurdles to foreign direct investment in low- and middle-income nations [Reuters] The Iran conflict is forcing the World Health Organization to reroute emergency medical aid to overland journeys, raising freight costs by up to 30% with longer lead times and the risk of aid being stranded. [Reuters] Correction notice: We’ve updated yesterday’s edition of the Newswire to clarify the workforce size comparison between USAID’s humanitarian bureau, which had over 1,000 staffers, and the less than 250 staffers proposed for the new State Department bureau.
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Thank you for reading today’s Newswire, edited by Rumbi Chakamba, copy edited by Florence Williams and produced by Adia Pauline Lim. Have a news tip? Email [email protected].
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