Kevin Starr, CEO of the Mulago Foundation, called the halt to humanitarian aid “nothing short of a crime” and denounced the “idiotic, inhumane dismemberment” of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
But in a recent Devex Pro briefing, he was equally harsh about philanthropies and other organizations that work in development without a commensurate, laser-like focus on impact and scale.
Comparing philanthropy to a garden water hose, he said: “The real attention first and foremost has to be focused on where that hose is pointed. And there's actually a lot of money now, but a lot of it isn't pointed in the right direction. And if you think you’re watering your garden with your hose, but you're not really paying attention, you could be just spraying the living room furniture, and so we need to keep working on the culture of philanthropy to be more focused on real impact.”
About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
