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Needed: Boring Health Care Solutions: Does global health have an unhealthy fixation on innovation? (Bi-Weekly Checkup, 8/3/13)
Does global health have a decidedly unhealthy fixation on innovation? Is there too much focus on flashy technological solutions to persistent health problems, and not enough on the slow, “boring” approaches that often bring more lasting results? We discuss the issue in NextBillion Health Care’s Bi-Weekly Checkup.
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- Health Care, Technology
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Avon, Amway … Africa?: Can the direct sales agent model work for health goods at the BoP? Part 2
Direct sales agent models are generating a lot of buzz in BoP health care. By recruiting local sales teams to sell health products directly to their communities, social enterprises hope to improve health, provide an income for the salespeople – and make a profit. But can they overcome the challenges of working at the BoP? The SHOPS project studied several approaches in Africa, and lead researcher Michael Kubzansky discusses what works – and what doesn’t – in part 2 of our Q&A.
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- Education, Health Care, Social Enterprise
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Avon, Amway … Africa?: Can the direct sales agent model work for health goods at the BoP? Part 1
It’s not easy marketing health products to the BoP. Challenges range from remote distribution to customers’ limited awareness of the products’ benefits or correct usage. That’s why some companies are recruiting local sales teams to sell health products directly to their communities. But how can the Avon/Amway model work for low-margin goods at the BoP? The SHOPS Project analyzed five business models in Africa over 16 months. In Part 1 of this Q&A, lead researcher Michael Kubzansky describes its findings.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Social Enterprise
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Fighting HIV and Malaria in Uganda: Quality Chemical Industries produces low-cost antiretroviral drugs while spurring local manufacturing
Quality Chemical Industries produces low-cost antiretroviral drugs while spurring local manufacturing in Uganda. It has greatly increased the country’s access to malaria and HIV/AIDS treatment. The company is expanding, with hopes of exporting its drugs to other east African countries. But its growth has been held back by government subsidies of more expensive, imported drugs.
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- Health Care
- Tags
- public health
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Seeking Scalable Solutions to Promote Nutrient-Rich Food: Insights from young innovators in Ashoka Changemakers’ Nutrients for All idea exchange
To have widespread, affordable access to nutrient-rich food, we need to work with the food industry, and take advantage of advances in science and technology. But how can this work in practice? Ashoka Changemakers and Thought for Food hosted an idea exchange with several young innovators, who discussed their work and the challenges of making nutritious food widely available.
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- Agriculture, Health Care
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Bribery Serves as Life-Support for Chinese Hospitals
Bribery is the lubricant that helps keep China’s public hospitals running, and the health system would struggle to function without illegal payments to poorly paid doctors and administrators, say medical practitioners and industry experts.
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- Health Care
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- public health
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The Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action: Using mobile technology to improve maternal health access in South Africa
According to UNICEF, 4,300 mothers die in South Africa every year due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth, 20,000 babies are stillborn and another 23,000 die in their first month of life. In total, 75,000 children do not make it to their fifth birthday.
To address these challenges, mobile technologies are providing women with access to life-saving maternal health information.- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Tags
- public health
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Diagnostics by Phone: uChek’s smartphone solution provides urinalysis everywhere
In rural areas at the BoP, patients often have to trek a long way to their nearest health center and diagnostics lab. So they only visit the doctor if they’re really sick, and rarely go for lower-priority services like screenings and preventive care. That’s why Biosense Technologies has developed uChek, a diagnostic app that converts a smartphone into a lab urinanalyzer that can screen for about 25 medical conditions.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology