Global Health Matters: Is it the end of the NGO as we know it?

24 April, 2026

Global Health Matters episode 66: April 2026

The Global Health Matters podcast Global Health Matters [https://tdr.who.int/global-health-matters-podcast] is the podcast from TDR featuring renowned experts as well as emerging voices from across the globe, with a focus on sharing perspectives from low- and middle-income countries. The podcast includes our Signature episodes as well as "Dialogues" and "Trailblazers with Garry."

Is it the end of the NGO as we know it?

Dear listener,

For decades, international NGOs have been central pillars of global health and humanitarian response efforts. But with aid budgets shrinking, trust eroding and local civil society organizations demonstrating the power of proximity every day, the model is under scrutiny. Who gets to lead? Who gets to decide? And what would more equitable, locally grounded international cooperation actually look like?

In this episode, host Garry Aslanyan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/garry-aslanyan/] explores these questions with two guests who bring complementary perspectives. Deborah Doane is a Partner at Rights CoLab and the convener of The Ringo Project, an initiative dedicated to reimagining international NGOs so that civil society everywhere can be more equitable. She is the author of The INGO Problem: Power, Privilege and Renewal. The second half of the episode features Angela Oduor Lungati, Executive Director of Ushahidi, a Nairobi-based nonprofit technology organization and open-source advocate with over a decade of experience advancing inclusive technology for historically marginalized communities.

We hope you enjoy this podcast as much as we do. Please share it with anyone interested in global health. We also love receiving your feedback, so feel free to write to us or send a video or voice message.

Best regards,

The Global Health Matters podcast team

TDRpod@who.int [mailto:tdrpo@who.int]

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TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, is a global programme of scientific collaboration that helps facilitate, support and influence efforts to combat diseases of poverty. TDR is hosted at the World Health Organization (WHO), and is co-sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and WHO.

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