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Interviews

New horizons

Canadian businessman Jim Estill put up $1.5m to bankroll the resettlement of 58 Syrian refugee families. Now, he hopes to galvanise others around the world to do the same.

Update

UAE institute to boost global fight against tropical diseases

The Abu Dhabi-based centre will support research and build new capacity in the battle to eliminate polio, malaria and neglected diseases.

Update

Beirut blast: donors urged to give locally and think long-term

Philanthropy set to play long-term role in Beirut recovery, as emergency aid funding tapers off.

Update

IsDB and Gates Foundation launch $2.5bn anti-poverty fund

New fund will blend grants and loans to support poverty alleviation in the Muslim world.

Update

Abu Dhabi crown prince backs $1.2bn drive to beat polio

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed pledges $30m as part of a new international effort to end the disease.

Update

Gates Foundation boosts pandemic funding to $255m

Bill Gates holds talks with Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed over global coronavirus response.

Update

Lockdown schooling threatens to widen education gap

Online learning presents an opportunity to rethink education, but in the short-term, vulnerable pupils could be left behind.

Update

Middle East donors join global pandemic response

Philanthropists, businesses and foundations across the Arab region are stepping up to support the fight against coronavirus.

Interviews

Afghanistan’s killing fields

Decades of conflict have left Afghanistan littered with landmines. Dr Farid Homayoun has been a frontline witness to this destructive legacy.

Interviews

Passing the torch

Bahraini businesswoman Mona Almoayyed on microfinance, supporting migrant workers, and the roots of her family philanthropy.

Interviews

Eastern promise

China’s nascent philanthropic sector is finding its feet, says self-made billionaire Zhai Meiqing, founder of China's first private foundation.

Interviews

India’s icon

Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata business empire, tells us why his country needs a new approach to improve the lives of the millions of Indians mired in poverty.

Interviews

Hunger: on the front line

How do you solve a problem like world hunger? With generosity and public will, says Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the WFP.

Interviews

The quiet philanthropist

Indonesian tycoon Tahir has traded a history of discreet philanthropy for a policy of public, strategic giving. Now he wants Asia’s wealthiest to do the same.

Interviews

A safe haven

In an exclusive interview, António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, tells Philanthropy Age why the global humanitarian system has reached its limits.

Interviews

Great expectations

Melinda Gates is a mother, a wife, and one half of the world’s most generous private philanthropic organisation. In an exclusive interview, she talks Middle East giving, women and her hopes for the future.

In-depth

The power of vaccines

Immunisation lies at the heart of a concerted global push to slash deaths from preventable diseases. We examine the power, the potential, and the price of vaccines in the 21st century.

Interviews

Ideas to change the world

He is the world’s richest man, and its most influential philanthropist. Bill Gates talks giving, the Gulf, and his plan to help combat poverty in the Muslim world.

In-depth

Green shoots

Meet the nonprofits and private companies digging to the root of poverty among India’s smallholder farmers.

In-depth

Digital dollars

Mobile money is at the heart of a digital payment movement that aims to deliver financial services to the world’s poorest communities.

In-depth

Lost at sea

The Mediterranean is the world’s most lethal border crossing. As the debate over safe, legal routes rages, NGOs battle to save those at sea.

Interviews

Educating India

Azim Premj describes his mission to transform public education and help a new generation of Indian philanthropists to drive change.

Update

UAE charity pop-ups supply the needy during pandemic

Grassroots schemes scramble to help those left destitute by the coronavirus outbreak.

Spotlight Issue 16

The moment / A meeting that changed the world

Thirty years ago, a conversation between Sheikh Zayed and President Carter sparked a partnership that has helped bring a debilitating disease to the brink of eradication.

Interviews Issue 16

The working poor

Low-paid migrants keep the Middle East moving, but many face hardship and exploitation. In Bahrain, the Migrant Workers Protection Society works to support the vulnerable by offering help, exposing abuses and lobbying for change.

Spotlight Issue 16

Big picture / Tributes paid to Kuwait’s ‘Emir of Humanity’

Sheikh Sabah leaves a legacy of leadership, diplomacy and compassion for others.

Interviews

Class divide

Covid-19 has left millions of refugee children out of school. The world’s response, say the CEOs of Save the Children UK and the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, threatens this generation, and those to come.

Update

UAE health prize hopes to speed path to disease elimination

Abu Dhabi-based GLIDE launches award calling for new, catalytic approaches to wiping out diseases of poverty.

Insights

Can Covid-19 help transform corporate philanthropy in Africa?

Existing models of corporate giving aren’t fit for purpose, writes Noxolo Hlongwane. African businesses must seize the moment and rethink their approach.

Interviews

Meet the artist moving millions to help children in need

British painter Sacha Jafri on the sale of his $62m artwork for charity, and his plan to help bring healthcare, education, and internet access to impoverished children worldwide.

Insights

Blood money

Slavery is a $150bn industry built on human suffering. Nick Grono, CEO of the Freedom Fund, argues that we must do more to help the more than 40 million men, women and children entrapped around the world today.

Update

UAE fund backs refugee education with new grants

Fund created by Emirati philanthropist Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair confirms third round of grants in support of displaced youth.

Insights

Closing the gap

If we want to eradicate extreme poverty, we must fix the gender pay gap, says UN Women's executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Update

Abu Dhabi backs UN-led fund to combat chronic malnutrition

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi gives $2.5m in launch funding to Unitlife, a UN-led partnership seeking to catalyse support for global nutrition programmes.

Insights

For an inclusive global recovery, invest in social enterprises

What could the world look like if investors joined philanthropists in funding frontline social enterprises? Carolien de Bruin and Vineet Rai explore how impact investing could shape a more inclusive future.

Update

Islamic Development Bank names new president

Mohammed Sulaiman Al Jasser says bank's top priority is post-Covid recovery of member states.

Update

Funding pressures mount amid Afghanistan crisis

Humanitarian agencies warn perfect storm of factors has left 18 million Afghans in desperate need of aid.

Insights

10 rules for being an effective donor

From unrestricted gifts to creating feedback loops that work, Phil Buchanan, president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, outlines what separates the good from the great when it comes to grantmaking.

Spotlight

The moment / Waging war on forgotten diseases

Abu Dhabi unveils $100m fund to eradicate diseases of poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

Update

Winners announced for $1m UAE health prize

Doctors from Ghana, Yemen, Pakistan, and the Philippines receive funding for innovative community approaches to eliminating infectious diseases.

In-depth

Building back: how Beirut mobilised after the blast

The Beirut port explosion devastated the city. It also revealed new ways of funding and mobilising emergency response.

Insights

Shining a spotlight on female health workers

Women are leading the global fight against disease. It’s time we gave them more recognition and funding, writes Diana Yousef, from the Global Institute for Disease Elimination.

Update

Indian philanthropists launch network to catalyse giving

GivingPi aims to have 5,000 families directing $1bn to social causes in India every year by 2030.

In-depth Issue 15

Family fortunes

Find out how changing mindsets, new laws and social pressures are shaping the way GCC family businesses choose to give.

Spotlight Issue 15

Digital donations

The UN's refugee agency is working to bring Islamic philanthropy into the digital age.

In-depth Issue 15

The end game

Inside the new UAE institute hoping to globalise the fight to wipe out neglected tropical diseases.

Interviews Issue 15

All at sea

Ships’ crews are the unseen heroes of global trade. When problems arise, the charity Mission to Seafarers offers a rare lifeline.

Interviews Issue 15

Circle round

Olivia Leland, founder of global donor collaborative Co-Impact, on how pooled philanthropy can be a catalyst for large-scale change.

Spotlight Issue 15

The moment / The virus that stopped the world

The coronavirus pandemic has upended modern life, and philanthropy’s role within it.

Insights Issue 15

Global challenges need global solutions

Erna Solberg and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo believe the SDGs could be building blocks for a better, post-pandemic future.

Spotlight Issue 15

In plain sight

Poor eyesight is a $227bn-a-year global health crisis. A cheap, 700-year-old solution could solve it.

Interviews Issue 16

The science of progress

Hayat Sindi believes science and technology could unleash a new wave of progress in the world’s poorest Muslim nations. She tells Philanthropy Age how the Islamic Development Bank plans to lead the charge.

Insights

The race to vaccinate

Equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines is the victory we should all be pushing for, writes Simon Bland, CEO of the Global Institute for Disease Elimination.

Insights

Climate countdown

Climate change is the greatest emergency facing humanity. As the window for action closes, philanthropy must step up.

Spotlight Issue 16

Big picture / Global study reveals urgent need for better health data

Gaps in public health reporting can put lives at risk, warns WHO report.

Insights

Guiding light

Actor and filmmaker Forest Whitaker was raised on the streets of South Central Los Angeles. Today he uses that experience, and the lessons he learned, to help lift the lives of young people touched by conflict.

Insights

The power of zakat to fight poverty

Better use of Islamic giving could unlock billions of dollars in funding for sustainable development, writes Tariq Cheema.

Update

Refugee organisations get $24.3m funding boost

The Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award supports calls to localise aid funding and increase direct support to frontline organisations.

Insights

From saving lives to changing lives

Investing in the education, health and freedom of refugees pays long-term dividends, writes Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, eminent advocate for the United Nations' refugee agency.

Update

Saudi foundation fund aims to build north-south science ties

New Community Jameel fund is part of a wider bid to tackle the global equity gap in science, says foundation director.

Spotlight

Big picture / Rockefeller, Ikea pledge $1bn in green energy push

Each foundation will give $500m to a fund that will finance renewable energy projects in emerging nations.

Update

$1m prize for UK teacher named ‘world’s best’

London-based Andria Zafirakou awarded 2018 Global Teacher Prize in star-studded Dubai ceremony.

Update

Kenyan science teacher wins global prize

Franciscan brother who gives away 80% of his salary scoops $1m prize for his contribution to teaching.

Insights

Doing the most good

Effective philanthropy means being ruled by your head and not your heart, writes bioethicist Peter Singer.

Update

Winners announced in $8m education prize

Hong Kong-based Yidan Prize awards Stanford professor and nonprofit CEO for innovative work in boosting learning outcomes.

Update

$1m prize awarded to US teacher giving immigrant pupils a chance to succeed

Educator Keishia Thorpe used her own experiences of racism to improve support systems for immigrant students and their families.

Interviews

Inside the family foundation fighting poverty in Pakistan

Murtaza Hashwani on how Hashoo Foundation is helping to spur economic growth in some of Pakistan’s poorest regions.

Spotlight

Remembering the UAE’s humanitarian president

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan established the UAE as a leading global donor.

Insights

Being transparent about the power of data

Arab Foundations Forum CEO Naila Farouky makes the case for data and transparency.

Update

Green promise: philanthropy commits to fight climate change.

Foundations in the Middle East are beginning to introduce more climate-sensitive programming.

Insights

Powering change

Young people want more and better learning opportunities. Theirworld president Justin van Fleet explains how philanthropy can help them achieve it.

Podcasts

The war on Gaza's children

This is a special episode, recorded in solidarity with the people of Palestine, featuring an interview with Steve Sosebee, the founder and president of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).

Podcasts

UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi on finding new solutions for refugees

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, joins Maysa Jalbout in The Impact Room to discuss new pathways to respond to the global displacement crisis.

Podcasts

Unpacking the myth of the ‘good refugee’

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 policies and perceptions? And what is the effect on those who are defined by it?

Podcasts

Knowledge and power: who has it, and who owns it

Lisa Seitz Gruwell, chief advancement officer at the Wikimedia Foundation, talks knowledge sharing, fake news, and why Wikipedia has a bias problem.

Podcasts

Breaking the chains of modern slavery

Are global efforts to end exploitation making progress, or are countries and campaigners failing in their fight? Three experts weigh in.

Podcasts

Philanthropy and the last mile of disease elimination

Ellen Agler, CEO of the END Fund, a philanthropy-backed initiative targeting neglected tropical diseases, talks progress, pooled giving, and the decolonisation of global health.

Podcasts

Rooting for change: solving the unemployment crisis

In this episode of the Impact Room, we meet the Arab women leaders charting a new course against unemployment – and delivering results.

Podcasts

Prize philanthropy: who are the real winners?

Philanthropy-backed competitions involve big money, but do they also deliver results? Find out, in this episode of the Impact Room.