Reimagining an alternative eco-system for global development and humanitarianism: what might different look like?

Recent dramatic shifts in foreign aid and development finance – including the recent freeze on U.S. aid – are having ripple effects around the world and forcing a conversation about potential alternatives that is long overdue. On 18 February 2025 the GFCF hosted a discussion with Themrise Khan on the current state of the international development and funding system and what an alternative future might look like. Themrise presented the findings of her latest report, which builds on an initial provocation published in 2023 in partnership with the Centre for Humanitarian Leadership. In that original paper, Themrise laid out four key ideas that challenged the dominant aid system. These included:

• A de-siloed ecosystem that would dissolve the boundaries between different categories of actors (government, NGO, community based-organizations, etc).
• Countries as the locus of change, and entities within those countries as the key drivers of that change.
• An increase in regional partnerships and collaborations.
• An expansion of the definition and sources of funding, including domestic resources.

Themrise’s latest report is based on a set of consultations held with community development practitioners from the Global South, which invited feedback on her original paper and provided a space for a different set of voices to be heard.

See below a recording of the conversation from 18 February.