Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah is no stranger to conflict zones, having  spent decades volunteering for medical charities in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. But the plastic and reconstructive surgeon says his latest experience in Gaza has no parallel.  The scale of the current suffering in Gaza, “the intensity, the ferocity, the viciousness, and the deliberate targeting of the hospitals”, he says, was like "a tsunami”. Dr Abu-Sittah travelled to Gaza days after Israel began its bombardment...

Water scarcity is a growing problem around the world, especially in the Middle East, but climate change is only half the story. In this episode of The Impact Room, we look at the social, economic, and geopolitical importance of water.  We explore how its co-option, commodification, and unequal  distribution is creating shortages affecting health and livelihoods and fuelling local and regional conflicts. Join host Maysa Jalbout in conversation with: Professor Mark Zeitoun, the director general...

The Rockefeller Foundation is one of the world’s oldest and largest philanthropies. It was launched in 1910 with funds from oil, but in 2020, unveiled a plan to divest its US$5bn endowment from existing fossil fuel interests and refrain from future investments in the sector.  The foundation has also committed to invest US$1bn of programme resources into collaborations and partnerships in the areas of energy, food, health and financial systems. This is with the aim of creating the changes...

Close to 800 million people were classed as food insecure in 2022 due to a mix of conflict, rises to cost of living, Covid-19, and climate change, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). As needs rise and budgets shrink, aid agencies are unable to keep up with demand and shrinking budgets are leading to ration cuts resulting in yet more hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and insecurity. In this episode of The Impact Room, recorded ahead of the UAE hosting COP28, we shine a...

Wanjira Mathai is the managing director of the World Resources Institute (WRI), the chief Africa adviser to the Bezos Earth Fund and the former chair of the Green Belt Movement in her native Kenya.  Speaking to Maysa Jalbout on The Impact Room ahead of COP28, Mathai, describes the moment we’re in as “the decisive decade” and warns that “the science is getting shaper”, “the challenge is deep”, and “we have a lot of work to do”. Mathai, who was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential...

We were due to kick off Season Four with a series of interviews about climate philanthropy, ahead of the UAE hosting COP28, but we felt we could not ignore the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.  In solidarity with the people of Palestine, we have recorded some special episodes about the impact this latest war is having on innocent people.  We want to both highlight the current emergency, and also explore what role philanthropy can - and should - be playing to help those in need. At...

Climate change, food security, funding collaboratives, and design for development. These are just some of the topics we’ll be discussing in Season Four of The Impact Room. Join Maysa Jalbout in conversation with a diverse line-up of global philanthropists, development leaders, industry experts, and frontline organisations as they share insights and inspiration. With the UAE due to host COP28 at the end of the year, we’ll be applying a climate lens to several of our episodes, looking at the...

This is a special episode dedicated to President Carter, who aged 98 has recently entered a hospice, and the extraordinary impact he has had around the world in the decades since leaving the White House. From resolving conflicts and building homes for the poor, to eradicating disease and championing human rights, President Carter’s impact has been felt far and wide and in 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. We hear from people he worked with, as well as those whose lives he has...

Mosun Layode, Bheki Moyo, and Degan Ali discuss development funding and philanthropy in Africa. Just 14 percent of large gifts by international donors get to local NGOs in Africa, and only 9 percent of large gifts by African funders are channelled to proximate organisations, according to Bridgespan research. The rest of the money goes to governments and international NGOs. Why this happens – and what it means for on-the-ground organisations, programming, and final impact – is at the heart of...

Ninety percent of children's brains are developed by the age of five - yet around the world, millions of young people are missing out on adequate nutrition, care, and stimulating play, causing them to fall behind, even more they have started school. In this episode of The Impact Room, host Maysa Jalbout discusses the global crisis in early years care and asks what philanthropy and governments can - and should be - doing to fix it. Maysa is joined by Theirworld chair Sarah Brown and preside...

Elizabeth Tanya Masiyiwa and Neera Nundy join host Maysa Jalbout in The Impact Room to discuss gender equality and what philanthropy can do to advance its progress. The Sustainable Development Goals were launched in 2015 to eliminate extreme poverty and support sustainable and resilient development. But eight years and a global pandemic later, many of the SDGs are hanging in the balance, none more so than goal number 5, with its target of gender equality.  On this, progress hasn’t just...

Globally celebrated conservationist Dr Jane Goodall steps into The Impact Room to discuss her long career and explains why, despite being nearly 90, she still spends a large part of her time travelling the world meeting young people. Speaking to host Maysa Jalbout during a recent visit to the UAE, Dr Goodall reflects on some of the challenges she has faced during her life, why good news matters, and what gives her hope. Dr Goodall also discusses the UAE's hosting of COP28, gives her views...

Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen, and Myrna Atalla, executive director of Alfanar, the Middle East's first venture philanthropy organisation, join host Maysa Jalbout in The Impact Room to discuss what businesses, philanthropists, and impact investors can do to support social enterprises. A new generation of entrepreneurs are setting up mission-driven businesses to solve social problems in a sustainable way. These so-called social enterprises come in all shapes and sizes and...

Season three is on its way. Stand by to hear Maysa Jalbout back in conversation with philanthropists, development leaders, industry experts, and frontline organisations from around the world. Forthcoming episodes will tackle a range of topics including: social entrepreneurship and impact investing; giving with a gender lens; funding for early years education; African philanthropy; and the decolonisation of aid. Subscribe now to make sure you don't miss any new episodes. The Impact Room is...

In this final episode of the current series of The Impact Room, Asif Saleh, executive director of BRAC, the world’s largest NGO, joins Maysa Jalbout to discuss community-led solution systems, microfinance, and climate accountability. BRAC began in 1972 as a relief organisation to support displaced people in the newly-independent Bangladesh, but in the five decades since, it has grown to become the largest – and arguably – most enterprising NGO in the world. Its programmes span poverty...

As the number of forcibly displaced people around the world surpasses 100 million, Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, joins Maysa Jalbout in The Impact Room to discuss new pathways to respond to the global displacement crisis. Ukraine alone has generated more than six million refugee movements since the Russian invasion in February, and the knock-on effect that this has had on grain exports has triggered global food shortages, which in turn threaten to lead to...

Sesame Street has been entertaining children around the world for generations. First launched in 1969, the show was an experiment to see if television – then just an emerging technology – could be used to educate young children.  Today, this unique style of education and social messaging continues to be delivered by a diverse cast of muppets – and humans – to children and caregivers across seven continents in more than a dozen different languages. In this episode of The Impact Room, we take a...

Every year, tens of thousands of migrants risk their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Fleeing failed or fragile states and packed into overfilled boats, they seek a better life in Europe. Many don’t make it, either drowning en-route or being turned back by coast guards under strict orders not to assist them. In 2021 alone, more than 3,000 people  drowned or were lost at sea, compared to 1,776 the previous year, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Malta-based...

Rukmini Banerji is CEO of India’s Pratham Education Foundation. Founded 25 years ago to teach out-of-school youngsters in the slums of Mumbai, Pratham  has grown to become one of the country's largest NGOs, delivering high quality but low-cost interventions to millions of Indian children. It works directly with children and youth as well as through large-scale collaborations with government systems using mapping and data to help inform teaching approaches. Pratham's Annual Status of Education...

In the politics of migration, refugees are either demonised as intruders or celebrated for their success. But how does this distinction of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ refugees shape public policies and perceptions? And what is the effect on those who are defined by it? In the media narratives of the west, refugees are most commonly painted as economic interlopers, with calls for ever-harsher immigration policies to keep them out. Yet, more rarely, we also see the glorifying of refugees deemed to have...

Are global efforts to end exploitation making progress, or are countries and campaigners failing in their fight? Three experts weigh in.  More than 40 million people around the world today are thought to be enslaved, a shadow economy of coerced labour, sexual exploitation and rights abuses estimated to be generating $150bn in illegal profits a year. In recent years, there's been a surge in legislative efforts to combat slavery, alongside a rise in philanthropy-funded initiatives lobbying for...

Lisa Seitz Gruwell, chief advancement officer at the Wikimedia Foundation, talks knowledge sharing, fake news, and why Wikipedia has a bias problem. It’s the world’s go-to site for information. Founded in 2001 with the aim of creating a free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia is today the largest crowdsourced collection of free knowledge in history, with over 55 million articles in hundreds of languages, all written by volunteers.  But, in an era of fake news and the explosive rise of social...

Philanthropy-backed competitions involve big money, but do they also deliver results?  From the Nobels to the Pulitzer, prizes have long been used as a means to recognise extraordinary achievement - and the nonprofit sector is no exception. Today, thanks to a leap in philanthropy-backed competitions, large cheques are being written for the world's best teacher, the boldest refugee response, and ideas to solve the climate crisis, among others. But as more donors commit dollars towards prizes...

Ryan Sturgill, the former director of Gaza Sky Geeks, on the realities of running a tech hub in an occupied territory and how he's learned not to take 'no' for an answer. Palestine is a country too often associated with conflict. Home to the world’s longest-running occupation, headlines from the region tell a story of poverty, soaring unemployment and the threat of fresh outbreaks of violence. One organisation is working to change the narrative.  Gaza Sky Geeks is a startup incubator and...