Against a backdrop of war, aid cuts, mounting debt & austerity, the response from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) & the World Bank at this week's Spring Meetings risks deepening the global humanitarian crisis, unless there's urgent action on debt relief, adequate financing and governance reform.

• New OECD data shows aid to the Global South fell by an unprecedented 23.1% in real terms in 2025, putting millions of lives at risk
• EU countries slash their aid budgets by 10% while institutions report cuts of 13.8% - sending the wrong signal to the Global South
• Ukraine alone received US$ 44.9 billion in ODA, nearly 26% of total ODA
• Amid debt and war spillover hitting the Global South, an urgent course correction is needed

The outcome of this week's Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF show that the institutions are moving in the wrong direction. 

In a world increasingly marked by self-interest and the dominance of power over principle, it is hard to be optimistic. However, our collective struggles last year led to some victories, and 2026 presents plenty of opportunities to overcome this peak era of imperialism.

The involvement of private finance in infrastructure and services provision is not new. However, the focus on leverage private finance has increased in recent decades, particularly after the adoption of the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), at the Third UN Conference on Financing for Development (FfD). Despite that, the initiatives promoted have proved to be far from what is needed, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seem increasingly out of reach. The current FfD process – as the only global space in which all countries have an equal voice – has the potential for transformational development in the global south. As the Fourth FfD Conference (FfD4) in Sevilla approaches, there is an opportunity for a thorough overhaul of private finance in development.