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)
• What does the failure of humanitarianism in Gaza mean? (Blog, 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)

Climate disasters are intensifying globally, with vulnerable nations facing disproportionate impacts despite minimal contributions to global emissions. From prolonged droughts in East Africa to intensifying cyclones in the Pacific, these events reveal a troubling paradox:

As the Expert Review on Debt, Nature and Climate demonstrates, countries must borrow to recover from disasters, yet face financial systems that:

• Penalise them for climate risks they didn't create
• Exacerbate vulnerabilities through rising sovereign defaults
• Fail to support long-term resilience investments

This episode examines three critical dimensions:

• Systemic reforms needed to align debt frameworks with climate reality
• Distributional challenges preventing finance from reaching frontline communities
• Innovative proposals to achieve climate justice through financial transformation

Guests

• Moritz Kraemer, Chief Economist, LBBW; Co-Chair, Expert Review on Debt, Nature and Climate
• Yussuf Hussein, Climate Finance Advisor, Kenya’s Special Envoy on Climate Change
• Sarah Colenbrander, Director, Climate and Sustainability Programme, ODI Global

Resources:

• Tackling the Vicious Circle: The Interim Report of the Expert Review on Debt, Nature and Climate
• Healthy Debt on a Healthy Planet: Towards a virtuous circle of sovereign debt, nature and climate resilience
• Indebted: how to support countries heavily reliant on oil and gas revenues to secure long-term prosperity