On April 25, 2015, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit 48 kilometers north of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. The reverberations were felt across the country. 9,000 people perished in the disaster and over half a million homes were destroyed. In response, the world pledged $4.4 billion in aid. And yet three years later, only 16% of this aid has been dispersed, fewer than 10% of 500,000 identified homes have been rebuilt, and many still live in temporary shelters. The case of Nepal highlights stark fundamental challenges facing international philanthropy and disaster response.

The Global Response

Although aid poured in from countries all over