R4D’s top five blogs from 2025 — and a few that deserve a second look
2025 tested the global development community. Programs ended abruptly and systems were strained. At the same time, technology advanced faster than ever, and conversations about localization and sustainability moved from rhetoric to reality. In this moment of disruption, R4D continued to show up with great determination and dedication — working with funders to adjust their strategies and partnering with leaders in low- and middle-income countries to help them carve a path forward.
Below are the five blogs our readers clicked on the most, shared, and kept coming back to in 2025, and three additional pieces that we think deserve a second look. Together, these blogs reflect how R4D is navigating a time of profound change, while working with our partners to achieve real impact.
R4D’s five most-read blogs in 2025
5. Why primary health care has the potential to make a massive difference in child development
In a year marked by disruption and resource constraints, this blog points to a powerful source of hope: primary health care. It shows how well-designed PHC systems can play a transformative role in child development by supporting nutrition, responsive caregiving, and early learning — especially for children most at risk. The piece underscores why investing in PHC is critical for equity and long-term human capital.
4. Bridging the gap between evidence and policy: Understanding the work of knowledge brokers
As foreign assistance declines, government leaders need timely evidence to make the best decisions about how to use limited resources. This blog explores how knowledge brokers — embedded in governments, universities and civil society — help officials translate research into action, and why a strong ecosystem of policy support institutions is essential to sustain evidence-informed policy in uncertain times.
3. It’s time to build a field for health commodity financing: Sustainable domestic systems to ensure access to essential medicines and products
In 2025, the withdrawal of U.S. government funding exposed a hard truth: many essential medicines and commodities were never fully embedded in domestic systems. As foreign assistance dried up, stockouts and shortages of life-saving products followed. This blog makes the case that lasting access and equity will depend on a more integrated approach — bringing together health financing, market shaping, and supply chains to withstand future shocks.
2. A letter from our CEO: How R4D is supporting what countries need in this moment
Written eight months after the initial shock to the global development ecosystem, this letter reflects how the landscape has continued to evolve — and what that evolution demands next. As declining aid, rapid technological change, and the erosion of traditional support models reshape the field, countries are being pushed to rethink how they finance services, adopt innovation, and access expertise. Building on earlier calls for locally led development, this piece outlines how R4D is responding to this new reality.
1. Where do we go from here? 5 ideas for reimagining global development
Written in March 2025, immediately following the abrupt cancellation of U.S. government funding, this blog reflects on a global development system suddenly thrown into crisis. While acknowledging the profound human and institutional toll, it offers early thinking on what this rupture could make possible and argues for a decisive shift toward locally led development.
Three thought-provoking R4D blogs we think deserve another look
The future of nutrition financing: How governments can take charge to tackle malnutrition amid a looming crisis
Countries with high rates of malnutrition have historically relied heavily on external funding to deliver critical services. Now, in the face of major cuts, they are racing to protect and sustain nutrition programs. This blog highlights how leaders in Nigeria, Pakistan and Senegal are mobilizing domestic resources and working across sectors to reduce reliance on external support — and prevent a looming crisis from worsening. R4D experts also share three practical actions governments can take to make sustainable nutrition financing stick.
Inside EdTech Hub’s Helpdesk, a pioneering model for demand-driven, just-in-time technical assistance
As technology moves faster and education systems face growing pressure to adapt, governments need support that is responsive — not prescriptive. This blog takes readers inside EdTech Hub’s Helpdesk, a model designed to deliver just-in-time technical assistance based on what decision-makers actually need, when they need it. It offers a compelling vision of how demand-driven support can strengthen government capacity, accelerate learning, and make innovation more usable and sustainable.
Amox DT, sustainable financing for health commodities and navigating donor-funding transitions: Lessons from Tanzania
Since 2014, R4D has partnered with the Government of Tanzania to expand access to amoxicillin dispersible tablets (Amox DT) — a life-saving treatment for childhood pneumonia, the leading cause of death in children under five. Today, Tanzania fully finances Amox DT with domestic resources. This blog shows what true sustainability looks like: how R4D supported government leaders to develop strategies to transition off donor funding, overcome market and supply barriers, and scale nationwide access to this essential medicine.
Thank you to our readers!
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