Global development leaders examine how priorities and funding must evolve to create new partnerships that drive transparency, accountability, and impact.
With more than $40 billion in official development assistance cancelled in 2025 alone, this wide-ranging panel convened at Stanford's King Center on Global Development asks an urgent question: what comes next? Featuring Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, alongside former USAID Administrator and Ambassador Mark Green, Chair and Founder of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility Vera Songwe, and former Liberian Minister of Public Works Gyude Moore, the conversation spans the remarkable progress of the past 25 years – from the halving of child mortality to significant gains against HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis – and the very real threat that this progress will now reverse.
Suzman outlines the Gates Foundation's commitment to spending $200 billion by 2045, with a focus on local manufacturing, AI-powered diagnostics, and foundational education. But the panel is clear that philanthropy alone cannot fill the gap. Songwe challenges the embedded financial regulations that make African assets prohibitively expensive for investors, while Moore argues that African governments must pursue growth diagnostics and value-added processing of natural resources. Green calls for the US to show up, listen, and help turn resource transactions into genuine development outcomes.
Watch the full discussion on YouTube: