What are we missing? The Development Initiatives Podcast

The world’s attention is limited. Today’s burning emergency becomes tomorrow’s forgotten crisis. When the media spotlight moves on, vital issues in development and humanitarian response risk being forgotten. In this podcast miniseries, Development Initiatives’ (DI’s) CEO Adrian Lovett speaks with people with deep expertise to take us beyond the headlines and explore the missing issues, missing voices and missing data as we ask: What are we missing?

In this episode we turn our attention to global development and mental health. Everyone has the right to enjoy the highest attainable level of mental health, but for far too many people, the reality is very different. According to United for Global Mental Health, over one billion people are living with a mental disorder, but many have little or no access to services or support. The problem is particularly bad in low- and middle-income countries, where according to the World Health Organization, over three-quarters of people with severe mental disorders receive no treatment. On top of this, good data on mental health is often lacking. So what can be done to plug this vital information gap?

Our guests are:

• Sarah Kline is the co-founder and CEO of United for Global Mental Health, the first international NGO dedicated to increasing political and financial support for mental health around the world. Sarah is an internationally recognised expert in mental health advocacy. She has worked at a range of organisations including the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the UK government and Oxfam.
• Stephanie Whiteman is an Assistant Lecturer in Public Health in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. Stephanie is currently pursuing a PhD in Epidemiology, exploring the role of the retail food environment on individual dietary habits, and is a passionate youth advocate, frequently collaborating with the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, NCD Child and UNICEF.

For more on some of the issues covered in this episode:

• Read about the the Global Mental Health Action Network and sign up for their working groups.
• Read the report from United for Global Mental Health, Mental Health Data and Where to Find It.
• Read our discussion paper, Is the SDG monitoring

What are we missing? is a production of Development Initiatives, a global organisation harnessing the power of data and evidence to end poverty, reduce inequality and increase resilience. All views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of Development Initiatives.

To stay up to date with our work, follow us on X or LinkedIn, visit our website, and register for email updates.

We value your feedback! If you have comments or ideas for the show, please contact us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review wherever you listen.

The world’s attention is limited. Today’s burning emergency becomes tomorrow’s forgotten crisis. When the media spotlight moves on, vital issues in development and humanitarian response risk being forgotten. In this podcast miniseries, Development Initiatives’ (DI’s) CEO Adrian Lovett speaks with people with deep expertise to take us beyond the headlines and explore the missing issues, missing voices and missing data as we ask: What are we missing?

In this episode, we turn our attention to the situation facing women and girls in Afghanistan. In August 2021, Kabul, was captured by the Taliban after 20 years of war with an international military coalition led by the US. Chaotic scenes during the fall of Kabul were viewed by huge audiences around the world, but nearly three years on, media coverage of Afghanistan is far more muted. According to Human Rights Watch, since returning to power the Taliban have created the world’s most serious women’s rights crisis, and the economic and humanitarian situation remains extremely fragile. So what are we missing about the situation in Afghanistan today? And what does the future hold?

Our guests are:

• Horia Mosadiq, an Afghan women’s rights defender, journalist and researcher with more than 20 years’ experience covering human rights, politics, transitional justice and conflict analysis in Afghanistan. Among other things, Horia is a founder of the Conflict Analysis Network, a research, advocacy and capacity-building think thank focusing on violent extremism and radicalisation, and their impact on human rights.
• Heather Barr, Associate Director, Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch. Heather joined Human Rights Watch in 2011 in Kabul as the Afghanistan researcher, after working for the UN on human rights and legal reform in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi and Jordan. She has researched women and girls’ rights in many other countries across the world.

For more on the issues covered in this episode:

• Watch Horia Mosadiq deliver the Front Line Defenders Annual Lecture: How Afghan Women are Defying the Taliban (forthcoming)
• Read this article by Heather Barr, The Taliban and the Global Backlash Against Women’s Rights
• Read this report by the International Rescue Committee with support from DI, Why Wait? How the Humanitarian System Can Better Fund Women-Led and Women’s Rights Organisations

What are we missing? is a production of Development Initiatives, a global organisation harnessing the power of data and evidence to end poverty, reduce inequality and increase resilience. All views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of Development Initiatives.

To stay up to date with our work, follow us on X or LinkedIn, visit our website, and register for email updates.

We value your feedback! If you have comments or ideas for the show, please contact us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review wherever you listen.

The world’s attention is limited. Today’s burning emergency becomes tomorrow’s forgotten crisis. When the media spotlight moves on, vital issues in development and humanitarian response risk being forgotten. In this podcast miniseries, Development Initiatives’ (DI’s) CEO Adrian Lovett speaks with people with deep expertise to take us beyond the headlines and explore the missing issues, missing voices and missing data as we ask: What are we missing?

In this episode, we turn our attention to more than 200 million children affected by war, displacement and disasters, who are missing out on a decent education. With climate change and extreme weather events on the rise, these children’s chance to learn is more disrupted than ever. The challenge is particularly stark in northeastern Nigeria, where, according to UNICEF, 2.8 million children need support for their education. So, what are we missing about access to education in emergencies, and how can the world more effectively support the children most in need?

Our guests are:

• Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, the Global Fund for Education in Emergencies & Protracted Crises within the UN. Yasmine has over 30 years of experience with the UN and international NGOs. She has served in some of the most crisis-affected areas of the world, including Afghanistan and the Middle East, the Balkans, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.
• Ussah Yakubu, Project Officer at Global Survivors Fund, working in northeast Nigeria supporting survivors of conflict-related sexual violence across several states. Ussah is a practitioner focused on promoting peace and reintegration by strengthening child protection and the response to gender-based violence in Nigeria.

For more on the issues covered in this episode:

Read DI’s Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2023.

Read this report by Education Cannot Wait, Right Here, Right Now: An Emergency Appeal to Support Education for Children and Adolescents Affected by Climate Hazards.

Read more about the Global Survivors Fund’s work in Nigeria.

What are we missing? is a production of Development Initiatives, a global organisation harnessing the power of data and evidence to end poverty, reduce inequality and increase resilience. All views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of Development Initiatives.

To stay up to date with our work, follow us on X or LinkedIn, visit our website, and register for email updates.

We value your feedback! If you have comments or ideas for the show, please contact us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review wherever you listen.

The world’s attention is limited. Today’s burning emergency becomes tomorrow’s forgotten crisis. When the media spotlight moves on, vital issues in development and humanitarian response risk being forgotten. In this podcast miniseries, Development Initiatives’ (DI’s) CEO Adrian Lovett speaks with people with deep expertise to take us beyond the headlines and explore the missing issues, missing voices and missing data as we ask: What are we missing?

In this episode, we speak with two people who have argued that we have underplayed progress that has been made on global development in recent decades, and there are strong reasons to be optimistic. In 2024, reflecting on the Covid pandemic, global economic crises and numerous conflicts that are undermining international security, does that argument still hold?

Our guests are:

• Charles Kenny, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development and author of multiple books on development and economics.
• Anna Rosling Rönnlund, co-author of Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think, and a Co-Founder, VP and Head of UX & Design at Gapminder, an independent educational non-profit fighting global misconceptions.

For more on the issues covered in this episode, read:

• Our factsheet, Inequality: Global trends.
• Our factsheet, Economic poverty trends: global, regional and national.

What are we missing? is a production of Development Initiatives, a global organisation harnessing the power of data and evidence to end poverty, reduce inequality and increase resilience. All views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of Development Initiatives.

To stay up to date with our work, follow us on X or LinkedIn, visit our website, and register for email updates.

We value your feedback! If you have comments or ideas for the show, please contact us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review wherever you listen.

The world’s attention is limited. Today’s burning emergency becomes tomorrow’s forgotten crisis. When the media spotlight moves on, vital issues in development and humanitarian response risk being forgotten. In this podcast miniseries, Development Initiatives’ (DI’s) CEO Adrian Lovett speaks with people with deep expertise to take us beyond the headlines and explore the missing issues, missing voices and missing data as we ask: What are we missing?

In this episode, we turn our attention to the situation facing Syrian refugees in Türkiye. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, since the outbreak of war in 2011, over 14 million Syrians have had to flee their homes in search of safety. More than 6.8 million people have been forced to move within Syria, and millions more have made perilous journeys to leave the country as refugees, mostly travelling to Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Türkiye hosts the largest refugee population in the world, including around 3.6 million Syrians. Most observers recognise that the Turkish people have welcomed these refugees and provided significant support. But still, Syrian refugees in Türkiye face many challenges, which were further exacerbated by powerful earthquakes that struck the region in February 2023, killing thousands of people.

So, what are we missing about Syria’s refugee crisis? What is the situation today? What support is needed? And what might the future hold?

Our guests are:

• Sema Genel Karaosmanoğlu, Executive Director at Support to Life.
• Muhammed Adil, Partnerships Coordinator at the Bonyan Organization.

For more on the issues covered in this episode, read:

• Our joint report with ODI, The failure to fund refugee-led organisations.
• Funding to local actors: evidence from the Syrian refugee response in Türkiye.
• The Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2023.

What are we missing? is a production of Development Initiatives, a global organisation harnessing the power of data and evidence to end poverty, reduce inequality and increase resilience. All views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of Development Initiatives.

To stay up to date with our work, follow us on X or LinkedIn, visit our website, and register for email updates.

We value your feedback! If you have comments or ideas for the show, please contact us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a 5-star review wherever you listen.