Policy Updates

On October 20, 2026, it was reported that IDB was considering removing its target to spend at least 45% of its portfolio on climate finance, a move that would affect both IDB and its private sector arm, IDB Invest.

The IDB committed to invest 45% of total approvals in green and climate finance, rising to 50% by 2030. In 2024, the bank met the 45% target by approving US$5.6 billion. The IDB Group confirmed that it is considering the issue, stating that discussions with other multilateral development banks focus on how best to measure success and do not change its climate commitment.

Sources expected the announcement after COP31 in mid-November 2026, although some board countries wanted to delay the decision. If finalized, the move would make IDB the second multilateral development bank to drop a climate finance target in 2026, after the World Bank did so in June 2026, allegedly under pressure form the US. Reports state that the ADB is expected to follow suit.

On October 19, 2026, GiveWell confirmed it was considering a malaria partnership with the GFATM, which could become its latest malaria investment after more than US$1 billion since 2007.

Since its founding in 2007, GiveWell invested more than US$1 billion in malaria prevention and response programs that it deems the most cost-effective. The proposed Malaria Impact Accelerator would expand coverage and deployment of malaria interventions across the world through the GFATM.

A document reviewed by journalists showed the accelerator would prioritize countries with the highest malaria burden and lowest economic capacity. The document did not specify interventions. The GFATM board was expected to consider the accelerator at its October 2026 meeting.

Some board members welcomed the initiative, while others questioned whether it could discourage countries from increasing their own domestic resources for malaria response.

On October 14, 2026, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called for a fundamental reset of the global financial system at a Rockefeller Foundation event during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, and made debt restructuring a priority for the UK's G20 chair in 2027.

Miliband said the current financial system was failing developing economies and holding back shared global prosperity. He wanted debt restructuring and other measures to support the world's poorest countries to be a key priority when the UK chairs the G20 in 2027. He called for a new deal on debt that gives countries longer repayment periods and refinancing at better interest rates, which would give developing countries more room in their budgets.

Miliband, a former adviser to then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, sought to revive the ambition behind the major debt relief plan of 1999 launched under Brown. He acknowledged that budget constraints led the UK to sharply scale back its development spending.

On October 12, 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted a political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response without consensus, after objections from the US and a few other states blocked approval at a high-level meeting on September 25, 2026.

The non-binding declaration calls for stronger national, regional, and international cooperation guided by science, equity, and respect for human rights. It welcomes the WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted in 2025.

Chile's representative said no country can address a cross-border threat alone. WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged countries to finalize the PABS annex so the Pandemic Agreement can open for signature, begin ratification, and enter into force.

The US said it could not support text that overlooks national policy boundaries. The US objected to language implying commitments to agreements or negotiations it had not joined. It also objected to references to WHO-led processes, including the amended IHR, the Pandemic Agreement, and the PABS annex negotiations, as well as the excessive and repetitive use of 'equity' and its variants.

On October 12, 2026, the Gates Foundation and Wellcome Leap announced a US$100 million joint investment to launch Uzima: A Stillbirth Prevention Program, which set a goal of halving stillbirth rates in select countries over the next decade.

The program planned to identify, validate, and scale innovations that could help families and health workers recognize risks earlier and respond to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The commitment planned to begin with partners in sub-Saharan Africa, which would advance promising new tools and create a blueprint for reducing stillbirths globally.

The program is set to explore five categories of innovation:

• diagnostic tools, such as biomarker-based and imaging-based tests, for earlier detection of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes;
• AI-enabled ultrasound and other screening tools for settings with limited resources;
• labor sensors that help health workers detect complications sooner;
• AI-enabled decision-support tools; and
• integrated patient navigation systems for mothers, families, and community health workers.

On October 12, 2026, Germany pledged EUR10 million (US$11 million) during the World Health Summit in Berlin to improve access to family planning and maternal, newborn, and child health products through the GFF's Sustainable Commodities Access Program.

On October 10, 2026, the government of Bangladesh and the EIB set out plans for a EUR250 million (US$286 million) program to improve women's health and strengthen district hospitals for approximately 47 million women and girls.

The program, known as the Women's Health Initiative, proposed using funds approved in 2021 to support Bangladesh's COVID-19 immunization program, mid-term pandemic preparedness, and general health system resilience. This new program aims to expand access to essential health services during 2027-2031.

The initiative proposed expanding maternal and newborn care, cervical and breast cancer services, and access to emergency obstetric and newborn care. It also planned to strengthen primary healthcare, referral services, district hospitals, and critical care to deliver reliable, high-quality care and respond more effectively to future emergencies.

The UNFPA supported the government of Bangladesh in developing the program and is expected to provide technical expertise during implementation.

On October 8, 2026, the USDA signed agreements in principle to deliver US$357 million across eight Food for Peace projects, which will purchase approximately 129,000 metric tons of US-grown commodities for emergency food assistance in Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti, with Action Against Hunger, CRS, UNICEF, and the WFP slated to receive the funding.

This funding is in addition to US$687 million announced earlier in the year in emergency funding, including US$452 million for the WFP on February, and an agreement in principle worth US$235 million with CRS on July.

On October 7, 2026, the Norwegian government proposed a NOK2.4-billion (US$254 million) increase in 2027, a 75% rise that brings Norfund's funding to NOK5.6 billion (US$592 million) for investments in companies that create jobs in developing countries, according to Minister for Development Cooperation, Åsmund Aukrust.

Aukrust said employment is the first priority of the Labour Party government in development policy. The proposal focuses on strengthening Norfund's development mandate in the 2027 state budget, with the goal of creating more jobs while generating more long-term development from public funds.

The government also proposed a NOK30 million (US$3 million) increase to support business development and job creation in developing countries. Aukrust argued that work is the most reliable route out of poverty for individuals, creates value in local communities, and enables countries to finance their own development.

On October 5, 2026, Ambroise Fayolle, vice president of the EIB, announced that the EIB planned to double its climate adaptation finance to EUR30 billion (US$34.3 billion) through 2030.

The EIB will face a complex year ahead, however. Discussions remain heated around the size of the next MFF, while seven EIB shareholder countries, including France, Spain, Poland, Italy, Finland, Estonia, and Greece, prepare to hold national elections amid rising support for far-right parties. Though these elections have the potential to shape the direction of the EIB board, Fayolle said he was not overly concerned about them and preferred to wait until they occurred before assessing their impact.