• Welcome to Albion East! We are a new international advisory group dedicated to empowering philanthropic organisations, vulnerable communities, and initiatives that support a fair and equitable world.

    Founded by Graham Nelson in collaboration with Henry Haggard, the Albion team is thrilled to launch this joint project and bring our expertise and geopolitical perspective to advocate for the most effective use of developmental aid.

    Check out Henry’s OpEd on The Case for South Korea's Increased Global Leadership Through Development Aid

  • Hello Everyone!
    Thank you for the kind messages after our initial Albion East launch in May. Several of you were interested to learn more about our work so here is the quick-read version.

    What we’re about
    Albion East is a small, mission-driven advisory group I, Graham, set up with my wife, Haryun, earlier this year. Our goal is simple—translate the strongest evidence on solutions to critical global health issues (such as malaria, TB, vaccinations, and lead exposure) into tangible results. We achieve this by raising awareness and providing tailored support to potential funders and front-line organisations, ultimately directing resources to the most effective interventions. We have a particular focus on East Asia, where our language skills and cultural familiarity help us speak to partners with greater sensitivity and salience.

    Why we do this
    Albion East is the natural evolution of a long journey that Haryun and I have been on in thinking how we can use our modest resources to support the most vulnerable in society, whose voices are often not heard. For Haryun, that led from directing documentaries on marginalised communities, to her current main focus providing counselling and psychotherapy services to children in underprivileged London schools. For me, it’s what first got me into diplomacy twenty years ago, and more recently, motivated me to set up the Korean branch of the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF). In an increasingly challenging international environment where some of the leading traditional players are questioning and stepping back from development work, Albion East is our attempt to step up.

    Our team
    It’s a privilege to be partnering with my dear friend Henry in this work. Henry was my counterpart at the US Embassy in Seoul, and his knowledge of Korea and extensive networks are the stuff of legend. He has since concluded a twenty-five year career within the U.S. State Department to start his own advisory firm, Seekonk and also serves in a range of other roles including non-resident fellow at the Rice University Baker Institute and the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy in Brussels. Henry is a sought after commentator on global issues with recent articles in the Hankyoreh Newspaper on Korean Development Leadership and the Maeil Business Newspaper on The Future of South Korea-U.S. Relations. As we continued to talk after leaving Asia it was clear we were animated by similar goals and aspirations to leverage our experience and efforts in support of global health and philanthropic objectives. Henry has now joined Haryun and me at Albion East, and the result—our Global Aid Advocacy programme—absolutely wouldn’t exist without him. I’m thrilled we’re reconstituting our partnership to drive progress on important causes.

    Rounding out our small but nimble team is Henry’s wonderful partner Jessica running operations, communication, and design, and my university classmate and maths prodigy Chris, our lead on research.

    Of course, our work is all about collaboration, and we’re fortunate to partner with many fantastic organisations and individuals who share our vision. We’ll have more details to share, and hopefully be welcoming many more into the fold, in the very near future.

    How we work
    We are extremely grateful to have received a grant from Open Philanthropy which enables much of our research and donor support. The grant is hands-off by design and OP supports our objectives, but does not direct our agenda or benefit institutionally from our work. The priorities and positions we pursue are entirely our own.

    We pledge at least 10% of profits (and our Albion East incomes) to high-impact charities and reserve time for pro-bono or at-cost projects. Currently this includes my work as Director and Trustee of AMF Korea helping to raise awareness and grow the donor base in Korea.

    In addition to Albion East, I continue to work part time at the Foreign Office (FCDO) on issues unrelated to global development. I am indebted to the supportive colleagues and leaders at the FCDO who have endorsed and enabled this arrangement.

    Upcoming...
    Henry and I will be in Korea from 26 July to 1 August to continue conversations with a range of partners, introduce Albion’s mission, and build a network of support. For those of you based in Seoul and around during that period, we hope to see you while we’re in town!

    Getting involved
    If what we’re doing resonates, we’d love to stay in touch. Future newsletters will highlight the projects and people we’re learning from, plus the impact of your support.

    And if you’re curious about anything we have not covered, or have ideas, causes or projects you’d like us to consider, contact us!—we’d love to hear from you.

    That’s it! 
    Warmest wishes from all of us at Albion East, and we hope you have a great week!

    Graham, Henry, Haryun, Jessica and Chris

    Spotlight on… Lead Exposure
    In every newsletter we’ll aim to highlight a different cause we’re focusing on. Over time we’ll share these as a growing repository of information over on our website. This month, we’re kicking things off with one of the most neglected global health issues - lead exposure.

    Lead poisoning is the silent pandemic we rarely talk about—yet it is stealing futures on a staggering scale. One in three children—an estimated 800 million worldwide—have blood-lead levels high enough to impair brain development. That means lost IQ points, lower lifetime earnings, and a lifelong drag on national prosperity. Meanwhile, lead-driven heart disease, kidney damage and other illnesses now kill about 1.5 million people each year and sap 21 million years of healthy life from the global ledger—even more than malaria.

    Yet funding to fix the problem remains vanishingly small. Analysts estimate that all the NGOs working on lead in low- and middle-income countries spend just US$6-10 million a year—roughly US$0.31 per year of healthy life lost. Contrast that with HIV/AIDS, which receives around US$210 of development assistance for every lost year. In other words, the world invests around 600 times more per unit of harm in HIV than in lead exposure, making lead one of the most neglected issues in global health.

    The tragedy is not only the scale of harm, but how avoidable it is. Proven, low-cost actions—phasing out lead paint, regulating backyard battery-recycling, testing blood-lead levels, and enforcing food-safety rules—can slash exposure for just a few dollars per child. Pilot programmes show that as little as $11 spent can avert an entire year of ill-health, and unlock many more dollars in lifetime income gains.

    Momentum is finally building: last year USAID, UNICEF and major philanthropies launched the US$150 million Partnership for a Lead-Free Future, but the gap between need and resources is still vast.

    Why should you care? Because eliminating lead is a triple win - healthier children, smarter economies, and a fairer world—achievable for pennies on the dollar compared with better-known threats.

    Our full report dives into the data, country success stories, and ideas for ways to help. Read more here.