GiveWell Conversations

In the face of potential major cuts to foreign aid, how can we anticipate the impact on global health and effectively direct resources to the areas of greatest need? In this episode, GiveWell’s CEO and co-founder, Elie Hassenfeld, speaks with Principal Researcher Alex Cohen to discuss the forecasting work GiveWell has undertaken to better understand what the future of global health funding might l...

The US government has historically been a major funder of HIV/AIDS programs, providing around $5 to $6 billion annually through PEPFAR and other initiatives. With anticipated major reductions in US government foreign aid, including potential cuts of 20% to 50% to HIV/AIDS funding, GiveWell is assessing where new, cost-effective needs might emerge. GiveWell aims to find programs where additional fu...

Cuts to US government foreign assistance have created unprecedented challenges for global health programs. Countries that have relied on this funding must now navigate substantial gaps and make difficult decisions about program priorities.  In the fourth episode of GiveWell’s podcast series on these cuts, GiveWell CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld speaks with Program Officer Dan Brown about grant...

The US government has historically spent approximately $12 billion to $15 billion annually in foreign assistance dedicated to global health. The funding cuts announced in the first few months of 2025 disrupted the global health landscape and created the possibility of enormous funding gaps that are still coming into focus. In response, GiveWell has approved around $18 million in grants to support...

Our first episode shared a broad overview of the impacts of US government aid cuts and GiveWell’s initial response. This time, GiveWell Program Officer Natalie Crispin joins CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld to zoom in on a specific case, focusing on grants we’ve made to support urgent funding gaps for seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC).  SMC is one of the most cost-effective programs we’ve f...

In this discussion between GiveWell CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld and Senior Program Officer Julie Faller, we provide snapshots of how US funding changes are affecting global health programs: Immediate program trade-offs: As funds are paused, country governments are having to choose between essential health services, including one country that said it would prioritize HIV treatment programs w...