An illustration shows a diverse group of people seated around a table shaped like a winding road. The road leads toward a setting sun over a hill, all on a green world map.

Illustration by Sebastien Thibault

Global South Architects: Rethinking Sovereign Debt and Global Finance

The current system of global governance is not serving the needs of the Global South. Developing nations are struggling under immense and unfair debt, preventing them from investing in essential services like public health, education, and climate resilience. Simultaneously, foreign aid is flawed and declining, while the global institutions meant to address these issues are both unchecked and increasingly ineffective.

Stemming this tide requires constructing a people-centered global order powered by Global South leadership, where those experiencing the human consequences of sovereign debt and broken aid systems drive solutions. Through democratic governance and inclusive partnership, we can reorganize the global financial architecture to achieve social and economic justice, ensuring international institutions serve humanity’s majority rather than perpetuate inequality.


The Global Public Investment Network: Reimagining International Public Finance

Traditional international public finance structures continue to harm developing nations, keeping them in deep debt and excluded from decisionmaking processes. The Global Public Investment Network is pioneering a new model where all countries contribute based on capacity, all benefit, and all participate in funding decisions to tackle shared global challenges.

A diverse group of men and women stand smiling on a stage, posing for a photo. A large screen behind them reads "Sevilla Platform for Action" and "4th International Conference on Financing for Development, Sevilla 2025."
Global Public Investment Network

An illustration shows a team of people building a large, white outline of a globe with blue blocks. Some are on ladders or scaffolding, while others push a wheelbarrow, symbolizing collaborative construction and global cooperation.

Global Governance Reimagined

Ford and Foreign Policy reimagine debt architecture, development aid, international financial institutions reform, and other critical issues at the forefront of transforming global governance.

On a clear day, flags from various nations billow in the wind in front of the UN headquarters in New York: a modern rectangular skyscraper.

Guest Essay: A More Inclusive Global Order Is Possible

Ford president Darren Walker discusses how governments, civil society, and the private sector can align around the needs of people and communities to work toward global common good.



A person walks through a busy, covered market carrying a very large, heavy sack of produce on their back. People and various vegetables, including onions and eggplants, are visible in the stalls and aisles around them.

Shaking Off the Shackles of Sovereign Debt

The sovereign debt crisis is fueling economic collapse and immense challenges across the Global South. Ford, NAWI Collective, and International Development Economics Associates surface new solutions for debtors and creditors…

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (left) and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (right) at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Opinion: The G20 Must Follow Civil Society’s and Social Movements’ Lead

The 2024 G20 meetings hosted by Brazil established a trend of centering civil society voices at this global fora. At the 2025 G20, South Africa must continue this momentum.

A close-up of four hands, belonging to a diverse group of people, stacked on top of each other in a gesture of unity and teamwork. One hand has colorful bracelets and wrinkled skin.

Opinion: The Future of Global Governance Is Collective, Not Top-Down

At the 2023 United Nations General Assembly, Ford encouraged leaders to embrace new thinking and collaborative action and reexamine power they wield.

A blind man holding a white cane and a child stand on a train platform. Other people are seated and standing nearby. Train tracks are visible in the background.

Ford Foundation Announces $15 Million Commitment to Advance Global Disability Rights

Advancing disability rights accelerates equality worldwide. Ford pledges $15 million to disability rights and targets 25% of all grantmaking to be inclusive of people with disabilities.

Illustrations by Sebastien Thibault