Why Egmont?

Africa – east and southern Africa especially – is where the need is greatest. It remains the epicenter of the HIV epidemic and the only world region where the number of people living in poverty is growing.

Egmont’s story began at the start of Africa’s HIV & AIDS epidemic. In the late 1980s, our co-founder Colin Williams was working in Uganda, watching colleagues, friends and neighbors succumb to a new, poorly understood disease. With no treatment and little international response, families were torn apart – widows left without income, children without parents. Yet inside those same communities, people knew what to do: care for the sick, protect the bereaved, keep children fed and in school. Colin backed those local leaders with funds, guidance and connections so they could do more, faster. That is Egmont’s DNA: we let local people lead – because they know how to change lives.

Today, that imperative is as urgent as ever. Across the region, 25 million - that is one in ten - are living with HIV infection, straining local health resources and dependent on foreign aid in most cases. Adolescent girls and young women are at triple the risk of their male peers and account for over a quarter of new infections. Children still lag in access to treatment. The epidemic’s social cost endures. An estimated 10.2 million children in sub-Saharan Africa worldwide have lost one or both parents to AIDS-related causes.

Poverty and exclusion compound risk. About 464 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live in extreme poverty today. School exclusion remains highest globally in the region, with roughly 98 million children out of school, and pregnancy pushes many girls out of education: more than six million pregnant and parenting girls (10–19) are currently out of school in sub-Saharan Africa. Maternal mortality is still unconscionably high, with the region accounting for ~70% of global maternal deaths.

Egmont's history and model are based on providing local people with the resources to effect change. But this approach isn't rooted in ideology, it is borne out in evidence.

Local organizations deliver assistance more cost-efficiently and more effectively than large international actors. They know the language, culture and systems; they are trusted by communities and able to respond with agility. Egmont’s own analysis demonstrates that our Egmont Partners reach children and women at a fraction of the cost per beneficiary compared to international NGOs. This is not about cutting corners; it is about cutting overheads. Every pound or dollar stretches further, achieving deeper impact where it matters most.

External evidence backs this up. Studies have highlighted the financial case for localizing aid: community-based actors are able to deliver results up to 32% more cost-efficiently. Yet the global system continues to fall short. Each year, only a small fraction of international humanitarian assistance is delivered to local and national actors directly. The majority flows through international intermediaries, despite countless reports showing the efficiency and effectiveness of local delivery. Imagine what could be accomplished if just a fraction more was directed towards local people.

We believe local leadership is not just good development practice, it is essential for long-term change. Egmont Partners are preventing HIV transmission, building resilient livelihoods, keeping and helping young people in school, fostering safer communities for girls and young women and working towards a better future for their communities. They are doing so with fewer resources but greater ingenuity.