This episode examines the shifting landscape of Palestenian statehood as recognition spreads and new peace initiatives test the future of governance and diplomacy.

Momentum around Palestinian self-determination is building. Following a landmark summit chaired by Saudi Arabia and France on the margins of last month's UN general Assembly, the UK formally recognised Palestine, with nine other countries soon following suit. At the same time, Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point plan for Gaza, proposing a “Board of Peace” led by Tony Blair to oversee governance, demilitarisation and reconstruction.

With recognition spreading and new peace initiatives on the table, some welcomed, others highly contested - the questions are urgent: What do these developments mean for Palestinian statehood? How can governance be structured to support stability, rights, and accountability? And what is the role of international diplomacy in shaping a just and lasting peace in the region?

Guests:

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Nimer Sultany, Reader in Public Law, SOAS University of London
• Nomi Bar-Yaacov, international negotiator, arbitrator and mediator
• Sultan Barakat, Professor in Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University

Related resources:

• Gaza and the 'day after' – international protection for reconstruction (Expert comment, ODI Global)
• Israel-Gaza crisis (Our topics, ODI Global)
• Stop the siege, stop the starvation – political gestures won't save Gaza (Expert comment, ODI Global)
• Political economy: an antidote to outrage on Gaza (Expert comment, ODI Global)
• Three key takeaways from UNGA 80 (Expert comment, ODI Global)

This episode examines the evolving role of philanthropy in shaping global development cooperation at a time when official aid is under strain.

According to the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad), global official development assistance (ODA) hit a record $223.7 billion in 2023. But many governments are cutting back under pressure from debt, Covid recovery, and domestic priorities.

At the same time, needs are exploding: climate adaptation could cost $300 billion a year by 2030, and low-income countries already spend more on debt than on health and education combined.

Philanthropy is being called to step up. But what should that look like? Beyond filling gaps, can foundations help reshape systems themselves – and do so with accountability and long-term impact?

Guests ask what lessons we can take from the Gates Foundation's bold decision to double its annual spending – with a plan to disburse $200 billion over 20 years before closing down. Could it spark a new model of North-South cooperation?

We hear how philanthropy can complement shrinking aid flows, address structural inequalities, and respond to emerging challenges – from climate shocks to pandemics to debt crises in the Global South.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Alice Albright, Former Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Challenge Corporation
• Gargee Ghosh, President, Global Policy & Advocacy, Gates Foundation
• Alexia Latortue, ODI Global Board Member & Former Assistant Secretary for International Trade and Development, US Treasury Department

Related resources

• Donors in a Post-Aid World (Project, ODI Global)
• What’s next for global cooperation? (Event video, ODI Global)
• Can multilateralism be saved? (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)
• The case for development in 2025: exploring new narratives for aid in the context of the EU’s new strategic agenda (Report, ODI Global)
• The future of aid (Resources hub, ODI Global)
• Climate-responsive social protection: A primer for philanthropy (Report, ODI Global)

From the suffragette movement and the fight against apartheid to today’s campaigns for climate justice and Palestine, what defines legitimate protest? And who gets to decide?

This episode explores the contested politics of protest through history. We examine what happens when legal and political channels for change are blocked, and how states respond when protest challenges entrenched power.

As politicians celebrate historic acts of civil disobedience while criminalising modern movements, we ask: who gets to decide what counts as legitimate protest – and how will history judge us?

Helen Pankhurst CBE, Chancellor of University of Suffolk and great grand-daughter of iconic suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, discusses what we can learn from shifting attitudes to protest movements over time. We hear from Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK Sacha Deshmukh, who explains why proscribing Palestine Action sets a dangerous precedent for criminalising peaceful protest. And Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou (Director of Politics and Governance programme, ODI Global) assesses how definitions of 'protest' are shaping grassroots movements globally.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive, Amnesty International UK
• Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, Director of Politics and Governance programme, ODI Global
• Helen Pankhurst CBE, Chancellor of University of Suffolk; Convenor of Centenary Action and Advisor to CARE International

The 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA 80) is under way at a time when the UN faces existential challenges.

Established 80 years ago to safeguard peace, foster cooperation and uphold the rights and dignity of all people, today the very foundations of the UN’s mission are being tested by various global trends: intensifying geopolitical rivalries, the climate crisis, record levels of forced displacement, eroding trust in multilateralism, and a systematic disregard for international humanitarian law – as is being witnessed in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere.

The UN80 initiative was meant to generate fresh ideas and commitments to revitalise the organisation for the future. But the results so far have been limited – more a patchwork of incremental reforms than the kind of bold transformation many hoped for.

As world leaders gather in New York for UNGA, this episode examines the credibility crisis facing the UN, and whether it can deliver the ambitious and urgent reforms needed to respond to today's fractured global order.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Heba Aly, Director of Article 109 (formerly known as the UN Charter Reform Coalition) & Facilitator, ODI Global's Donors in a Post-Aid World (dPAW) dialogue series
• Freddie Carver, Director, Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI Global
• Natalie Samarasinghe, Executive Director of the Public Engagement Platform for climate action; Co-founder of the 1 for 8 Billion; CEO of the United Nations Association-UK

Related resources

• ODI Global on UNGA 80 (Resources hub, ODI Global)
• Overcoming the obstacles to UN reform (Op-ed, Project Syndicate)
• Donors in a Post-Aid World (Project, ODI Global)
• What role should donors play in a post-aid world? (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)
• The future of global humanitarian action (Event video, ODI Global)
• What’s next for global cooperation? (Event video, ODI Global)

The soaring cost of capital for many low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa, is one of the most urgent and overlooked development challenges.

High borrowing costs are hindering vital investments in energy, infrastructure, food security and public services – threatening development progress and deepening global inequality.

But this decisive year for Africa could present opportunities for reform. South Africa is hosting the G20 Presidency – a first for an African country – whilst the next African Development Fund replenishment is due in November.

In this critical moment, guests examine what it would take to make development finance fairer, more affordable and aligned with African countries' priorities. We hear about the political choices and practical mechanisms that could create a system that is more effective and better equipped to respond to today's challenges.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Valerie Dabady, Manager, Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Department, African Development Bank
• Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
• Bright Simons, Visiting Senior Fellow, ODI Global
  
  

Related resources

• Investor Herding and Spillovers in African Debt Markets (Report, American Economic Association)
  
  
• Tackling the 'cost of capital' crisis in small vulnerable nations (Policy Brief, ODI Global)
  
  
• How can development financing be reformed? The road to Seville (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)
  
  
• On borrowed time? The sovereign debt crisis in the Global South (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)

Despite fractured politics in the US (and elsewhere) around foreign aid, Congress recently reauthorised plans to fund PEPFAR – the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief – even though the programme itself has not been formally reauthorised.

Since being established in 2003, PEPFAR funding for prevention, care and treatment programmes is estimated to have saved over 26 million lives. It's one of the most successful global health initiatives, and against all odds it remains a symbol of bipartisan cooperation.

But this moment raises bigger questions about what comes next. How sustainable is a model that depends so heavily on political will in the Global North? How can countries in the Global South set their own agendas? And how will increasingly polarised US politics shape PEPFAR's future, especially on issues around sexual and reproductive health and rights?

Guests dissect these questions and examine how PEPFAR and the wider global health architecture must evolve to meet today’s urgent challenges.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive
• Elizabeth Campbell, Executive Director, ODI Global Washington
• Doris Macharia, President, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
• Fionnuala Murphy, Head of Global Advocacy, Frontline AIDS

Related resources

• PEPFAR Latest Global Results & Projections Factsheet (Dec. 2024) (US Department of State)
• Frontline AIDS welcomes the news that PEPFAR will be spared from US cuts to aid (Frontline AIDS statement)
• How do US policy changes target transgender rights and undermine democracy? (Insight, ODI Global)

The humanitarian system and its principles are being destroyed. Over 1,000 people have been killed seeking aid in the past weeks in Gaza, caught between famine and bullets. With humanitarian actors systematically prevented from reaching people affected by crisis in many contexts, governments are turning to the private sector – security firms, consultants, and ex-military operatives.

From Gaza to Sudan to Myanmar, this shift raises urgent questions. Is a privatised model of humanitarianism going to become dominant? What would it mean for humanitarian operations and principles? And how can it be proactively addressed?

This episode examines what’s driving governments to outsource aid, and what this means for trust, principles, and the future of humanitarian response. Joshua Craze shares insights from his recent investigation into the operations of for-profit US company Fogbow in South Sudan. We hear how these dynamics play out on the ground in the West Bank from Oxfam’s Bushra Khalidi, and ODI Global’s Dustin Barter unpacks the wider implications for the international aid system.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Dustin Barter, Senior Research Fellow, ODI Global
• Joshua Craze, writer and researcher on South Sudan
• Bushra Khalidi, Policy Lead at Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Related resources

• Fogbow operations in South Sudan and beyond raise red flags for faltering aid system (The New Humanitarian)
• Beyond the reset: Five priorities for genuine humanitarian transformation (The New Humanitarian)
• Stop the siege, stop the starvation – political gestures won't save Gaza (Insight, ODI Global)
• What does the failure of humanitarianism in Gaza mean? (Insight, ODI Global)
• The politics of hunger – can famine in Gaza and Sudan be stopped? (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)
• The future of aid (Resources hub, ODI Global)

This episode examines a challenge at the heart of development finance. Much energy is focused on mobilising more capital in low-income countries and emerging economies, but funding alone isn't enough. A deeper issue persists: there simply aren’t enough bankable projects – ventures that are ready to absorb investments at scale.

Traditionally, development finance has been demand-led – waiting for the right opportunities to emerge. But this model is evolving. Some development institutions (DFIs) are now looking to actively help create the very markets we want to invest in.

Our recent report explores this shift, highlighting how institutions like British International Investment (BII) and Norfund are stepping in to initiate entirely new commercial ventures in challenging markets. These aim to generate critical investments in sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare.

So what does it take to build truly investable opportunities from the ground up? Experts discuss how to create sustainable, locally owned ventures that can deliver lasting development impact.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Paddy Carter, Director of Development Economics, British International Investment
• Frederique Dahan, Director, Development and Public Finance team, ODI Global
• Shaun Githuku, Director, Gridworks Development Partners LLP
• Noah Law, Labour MP for St Austell and Newquay & Member of the International Development Committee, UK Parliament

Related resources

• DFI sponsorship of new platforms and ventures: why and how? (Report, ODI Global)
• DFI sponsorship of new platforms and ventures: why and how? (Video of report launch event, ODI Global)
• Risk, return and impact (Report, British International Investment)
• Gridworks Development Partners LLP (British international Investment)
• MedAccess (British International Investment)