Roll Call: Foreign aid rider tangles up final spending talks “…[T]he White House is raising concerns in year-end spending talks about language secured by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., in the Senate’s State-Foreign Operations bill they fear could cut out faith-based aid groups from U.S. Agency for International Development contracts. Shaheen…

TIME: In Addressing HIV, the U.S. Has a Lot to Learn From Namibia “…The U.S. has played a leading role in the global HIV/AIDS response; bipartisan political support has led to the funding of multinational efforts to detect, prevent and treat the disease and the U.S. works hand in hand…

Devex: To direct more funding to Christians, USAID looks to Hungary “In mid-September 2018, a Hungarian official named Tristan Azbej traveled to Washington, D.C. for a series of meetings and events he hoped would draw the Hungarian and U.S. governments closer together in a mutual effort to help Christian minorities…

FP2020: Faith and Family Planning: Working Together to Drive Progress Post-2020 Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) released a brief on the role of religion in family planning efforts. According to FP2020’s website, the brief summarizes “knowledge about how secular FP2020 partners can more effectively engage with the faith community and [faith-based…

Devex: Abortion, LGBTI rights stir emotions on eve of Nairobi summit “In the lead up to a major global United Nations conference on reproductive and sexual health in Kenya, topics such as abortion, LGBTI rights, and contraceptives for adolescents have stirred controversy among faith communities and conservative advocacy groups. These…

POLITICO: Trump weighs conditioning foreign aid on religious freedom “Aides to President Donald Trump are drafting plans to condition U.S. aid to other countries on how well they treat their religious minorities, two White House officials said. The proposal is expected to cover U.S. humanitarian assistance, and could also be…

CNN: ProPublica: Pence’s office pressured USAID to award grants to Christian groups in Iraq “Vice President Mike Pence’s office and political appointees have been pressuring the U.S. Agency for International Development to direct its Middle East funding to preferred Christian groups in Iraq, an effort that career officials warned could…

ProPublica: How Mike Pence’s Office Meddled in Foreign Aid to Reroute Money to Favored Christian Groups “…Decisions about U.S. aid are often no longer being governed by career professionals applying a rigorous review of applicants and their capabilities. Over the last two years, political pressure, particularly from the office of…

Financial Times: It is time to position Islamic finance as sustainability leader Bandar Hajjar, president of the Islamic Development Bank “…Islamic finance places great importance on improving the quality of life, social equity and fair trade relations. It recognizes the importance of protecting the environment and forbids irresponsible profiteering at…

AFP: WHO welcomes Taliban decision to lift ban on health workers (9/26). CIDRAP News: Study implicates Asian Zika strain in African microcephaly cases (Schnirring, 9/26). Devex: Q&A: Putting health workers at the center of global health goals (9/27). Devex: Are there enough cases to declare a malaria epidemic in Burundi?…