Philanthropod - Impact Stories From a Global Community Australian International Development Network

Is there such a thing as a not-for-profit pharmaceutical company?
What are “neglected tropical diseases”?
How can you address global health inequities in access to medicines?
These are just a few of the many incisive questions that our latest episode of Philanthropod explores.
In episode 2 of Season 8 meet Mark Sullivan AO, Managing Director and Founder of Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH). MDGH is an independent not-for-profit company dedicated to the development of medicines for neglected diseases that primarily affect people living in poverty.
The majority of new medicines are developed for diseases that are prevalent in high-income countries as the potential returns on an approved medicine offset the high cost and risk of development. This model disadvantages the world’s poorest populations – according to the WHO, an estimated two billion people do not have access to even the most basic of essential medicines.
Responding to this deep inequity in global health, in 2005, Mark founded MDGH. Since its inception MDGH has demonstrated that it is possible to assemble the resources, collaborators and financing required to develop and register new medicines for infectious diseases in a not-for-profit company. In fact, in 2018, MDGH became the first solo not-for-profit company to achieve FDA approval for a novel medicine when they registered moxidectin, the first new treatment for river blindness (onchocerciasis) in 20 years.
Join Philanthropod’s host, Anubha Rawat, in conversation with Mark as they discuss Mark’s pioneering journey throughout the pharmaceutical industry, the importance of working with local NGOs, communities and health providers to distribute medicines, and navigating critical regulatory systems with major global health bodies such as the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and WHO (World Health Organisation).
To learn more about MDGH follow the link: https://www.medicinesdevelopment.com/ 

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Welcome to our first episode of Philanthropod for 2024!
In episode 1 of Season 8 meet Tahina Booth, Managing Director and Founder of Grass Skirts Project (GSP). GSP tackles severe gender inequality and violence against women and girls in Papua New Guinea (PNG) by uniting sport and gender justice.
For Tahina, sexual and domestic violence against young women and girls in the Pacific is a key development priority to achieve healthy and happy communities. However, a core ethos at GSP is that this is not a problem just to be solved by women and girls. Instead, GSP sees engaging young men and boys as key to the solution and imperative to fostering a more inclusive and equitable PNG more broadly.
Consequently, GSP’s programs, including the Gymbox and 10 Million Strong Leadership program, empower youth of all genders to challenge norms and embrace equity. They are designed to engage men and boys with something they love, sport and fitness, to ultimately heighten gender justice awareness and reduce gender-based violence. Moreover, by providing access to gym facilities and health resources for underserved communities, the programs are also achieving broader goals in the community related to holistic health, education and economic uplift.
Join Philanthropod’s host, Anubha Rawat, in conversation with Tahina as they discuss the importance of sport as a platform to empower young people, build confidence and address gender inequalities. Anubha and Tahina also discuss how working with local institutions and networks, such as the Church and schools, is key to fostering long-term sustainable development in the Pacific. Finally, Tahina further provides fascinating macro-level insight into international development governance, gender equality and women’s rights through her role on the Pacific Women Lead Governance Board. 
To learn more about Grass Skirts Project follow the link: https://www.grassskirtproject.org/about 


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In the final episode of Philanthropod for 2023 you’ll meet Shawn Cheung, founder and CEO of Raising The Village. Launched in 2015, Raising the Village is a charity focused on building sustainable pathways out of ultra-poverty for last-mile communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on Uganda.
By applying advanced data analytics to agriculture and community participation, Raising The Village’s primary goal is to increase household income and earnings from as little as $0.75/day to > $2/day within 24 months by driving agricultural incomes, fueling new income-generating opportunities, creating an enabling environment for communities to participate, and ensuring the sustainability of impact and progress. The program also strives to both identify and remove the daily barriers holding community members back and centers the idea that basic needs and services must always be addressed first before a development program can flourish. 
By the end of this year, Raising The Village will cross the milestone of 1 million lives impacted since its founding, with an ambitious goal of reaching 1 million each year by 2027.
Join Philanthropod’s host, Anubha Rawat, in conversation with Shawn as they discuss the importance of holistic and multidimensional approaches to development. In the case of Raising the Village: leadership, participation and buy-in from all levels of community is critical. From leveraging federal data and resources, to working with district governments to understand where the most critical need is, to pioneering a community-led model where clusters of villages can work together and identify their own specific and contextualized needs. 
Tune in to understand why Shawn was recognised in Canada's Top 40 under 40 as an innovator who is truly changing how things are done.
To learn more about Raising the Village follow the link: https://raisingthevillage.org/ 


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In Tanzania, there are 20,000 primary schools. However, there are only 800 high schools. This means that each year hundreds of thousands of young Tanzanians compete for every single spot at the available high schools. When a child misses out they are denied access to education, opportunities, and more often than not - their ticket out of poverty.
Unable to ignore this deep inequality, Gemma Sisia established The School of St Jude in Tanzania in 2002.
Twenty years ago, The School of St Jude opened with one teacher and a handful of students. Today, The School of St Jude provides free, quality education to 1,800 bright primary and secondary students from disadvantaged backgrounds. 100% of these students are on scholarships which are 100% donor-funded, and 97% of St Jude’s secondary graduates go on to access higher education.
The “Beyond St Jude’s” program has also been launched - where 100s of recent graduates volunteer as teachers in government schools. Not only does this program fill an urgent gap for teachers in Tanzania but is an extremely formative year for the graduates - where they navigate becoming an adult and giving back to their community.
In this episode, join Philanthropod’s host, Anubha Rawat, in discussion with Gemma who takes us on her inspiring journey - from her childhood in regional Australia to the founding and growth of The School of St Jude. Along the way, Anubha and Gemma also discuss timely international development themes such as the importance of localisation and maximizing impact for both donors and students. Finally, the episode ends with incredible moments of circularity as Gemma shares how the impact of her work is starting to emerge in wonderful and unexpected ways: from running into two former female students working as doctors to meeting with an alum who is the first Tanzanian referee in the English Premier League. With such encounters only representing the first generation of graduates - the journey has only just begun. 
To learn more about the School of St Judes follow the link: https://www.schoolofstjude.org/ 


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Audette Exel is a lawyer by profession, managed one of Bermuda’s biggest banks and has a sprawling list of banking, leadership and business awards to her name. However, Audette does not think of herself as primarily a businesswoman. Instead, Audette identifies as a social activist who decided to pursue social justice and equality through leveraging traditional business, power and capital.
At 35, she stepped away from the world of law and banking and embarked on her greatest challenge yet: setting up Adara Group - a global organisation that believes in the power of business and partnership to change the lives of people living in poverty. Today, Audette is the Chief Executive Officer of Adara’s two corporate advisory businesses: Adara Advisors and Adara Partners. The Adara businesses were established to help fund Adara’s health and education work with women and children in extreme poverty in some of the world’s remotest places (Adara Development). Knowledge sharing sits at the heart of their model, so that programs such as the Adara Newborn model in Uganda, can be stretched to remote regions and other countries in order to maximise impact. Since 1998, the Adara Group has had a profound impact on hundreds of thousands of people in poverty. 
In this episode, join Philanthropod’s host, Anubha Rawat, in discussion with Audette who takes us on her incredible Adara journey, from Bermuda to Uganda to Nepal, and introduces the listener to inspiring characters along the way. Audette also reflects on the changing international development sector more broadly. She believes that over her 25 years in the Development sector, she has witnessed watershed changes in the role of power dynamics and the addition of new, much-needed actors, such as private and public companies, joining the ecosystem.
Audette's warmth, passion and leadership shines throughout the episode.
To learn more about Adara Group follow the link: https://www.adaragroup.org/ 


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In this episode of Philanthropod, Anubha chats to Dave Everett, the CEO of the Nadia and Alf Taylor Foundation. Founded in 2002, the Nadia and Alf Taylor Foundation is an Australian PAF dedicated to breaking down barriers to education across 40 different countries. 
Throughout the episode, Dave shares his unique journey, from co-founding the School for Life Foundation in Uganda to joining forces with Nadia and Alf Taylor.
Dave weaves in his observations and stories, recounting his formative years living and working in East Africa, where he witnessed the unyielding determination of children seeking education. These experiences propelled the decade he spent building the School for Life in Uganda, alongside Annabelle Chauncy, and completing both an undergrad and masters in International Development.
Dave then highlights his career shift from the "doing" side to the "giving" side. This involved formalising the giving process at the Foundation plus seeking out partners with the potential for transformative impact. This shift also offered him the chance to work more broadly in the sector and collaborate on diverse projects across 40 countries. 
 
Listeners will gain insight into the Foundation's broad remit, which encompasses various fields from social enterprise, healthcare, social welfare, and poverty alleviation across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. Dave describes the Foundation as agile, allowing them to build deep relationships with grant partners and witness the remarkable work being done on the ground.
Finally, Dave and Anubha chat about balancing family life with a career that involves a busy international travel schedule - along with sharing some of his favourite travel destinations. 
Dave’s down-to-earth approach shines through in this episode along with his dedication to living a life of purpose. 
Links: 
Nadia and Alf Taylor Foundation: https://nadiaandalftaylorfoundation.org/
School for Life Foundation: https://www.schoolforlife.org.au/ 
Annabelle Chauncy’s Philanthropod episode: https://shows.acast.com/philanthropod/episodes/a-passion-to-educate-poverty-out-of-existence 


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