2025 has been a challenging year for international development. The abrupt dismantling of USAID by the United States’ Trump Administration, sucking $40 billion out of the aid system, as well as significant cuts in development budgets by the United Kingdom and European donors has massively reduced aid funding available.

This is having implications for multilateral organisations like the United Nations and World Health Organisation, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and – of course – the people and communities that they support.

How can multilateral organisations and NGOs reflect on the challenge and future directions? How can international development adapt and remain relevant in Asia and the Pacific? How can the process be decolonised to transform ways of working to support locally driven change?

Panel:

Munkhtuya (Tuya) Altangerel (Resident Representative, UNDP Pacific)

Matthew Maury (CEO, Australian Council for International Development) (ACFID)

Jope Tarai (PhD Scholar, ANU)

Dr Lisa Denney (Director, Centre for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University)

Ambika Vishwanath (Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe Asia) (Chair)

This event was a collaboration between the Centre for Human Security and Social Change and La Trobe Asia.

Recorded on 14th August, 2025.