Why big donors can’t deliver without NGOs: A dialogue with UNICEF’s Dara Johnston

About this episode

The episode discusses the essential role of NGOs in delivering services alongside big donors, focusing on water, sanitation, and hygiene in Palestine.

In this episode of Development Aid Dialogues—marking International NGO Day at the end of February—podcast host Hisham Allam interviewed Dara Johnston, Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for UNICEF in Palestine, for an in-depth look at how nonprofits complement big institutions on the ground. With a month-long series spotlighting NGOs' grassroots role in crises, community voices and global agendas, this conversation zeroes in on water, sanitation and hygiene access for the most vulnerable....

People in this episode

Host: Hisham Allam

Guest: Dara Johnston

Topics covered

• NGOs
• water access
• sanitation
• hygiene
• nonprofits
• big donors
• community voices

Keywords

• NGOs
• UNICEF
• water
• sanitation
• hygiene
• donors
• Palestine
• community

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UNICEF

Places: Palestine

More episodes of DevelopmentAid Dialogues

• Beyond Bottomless Wallets: The Strategic Reality of Gulf Economic Diplomacy. A Dialogue with Damyana Bakardzhieva · May 6, 2026 · 26 min
• Reclaiming Civic Space Amid Global Repression: A dialogue with Lotfullah Najafizada from Afghanistan ahead of the Ottawa Civic Space Summit · April 8, 2026 · 25 min
• From Starlink to Scarcity: Dialogue with Jonathan Criss—the SpaceX Engineer Solving Earth’s Water Crisis · March 25, 2026 · 20 min
• Fadi Bou Ali: Green and Blue Bonds Between Promise and Hard Reality · March 4, 2026 · 27 min
• NGOs: From Band-aids to Real Impact. Breaking Silos with NCA’s Linda Nordby · February 18, 2026 · 22 min
• Reframing Dutch Aid: Steven Collet on Mutual Interests and Smart Partnerships in 2026 · January 21, 2026 · 31 min