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Announcing NextBillion’s Most Influential Articles of 2024: Vote for Your Favorites by Jan. 5
As we bid farewell to an eventful year, it's time for NextBillion’s annual tradition: our “Most Influential Articles of the Year” contest. Each December since 2012, we've selected 12 of our most-read articles from the past year, inviting readers to vote for the ones that influenced their thinking the most. Check out the articles in this year's contest (if you haven't already), and vote for your favorites: You can vote up to once per hour between Dec. 18 and 11:59 pm EST on Jan. 5.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Health Care, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Impact Investing in Turbulent Times: Opportunity Amid Uncertainty
Impact investing, much like the world around us, is facing a period of prolonged turbulence, as the interconnected shocks of 2024 — from the escalating climate crisis to rising geopolitical tension — raise doubts about whether the sector can grow fast enough to make a difference. But as Florian Kemmerich at KOIS argues, the need to solve these crises may ultimately become the impetus for true scale in the industry. He explores how innovative investments can address some key global crises, and shares reasons for optimism amid the uncertainty.
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- Education, Environment, Health Care, Investing
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Developing Vaccine Infrastructure in the Age of COVID Fatigue: How Strengthening Influenza Vaccination Systems Can Prepare Us for the Next Pandemic
It's widely known in the global health community that we must prepare for the inevitable emergence of another pandemic. But as Joseph Bresee at the Task Force for Global Health explains, this threat no longer feels urgent to many people who are still exhausted from fighting COVID-19 and other global threats. And though advances in vaccine development provide reasons for hope, building the systems that deliver them is difficult and time-consuming. He explores how stabilizing and expanding global influenza vaccine delivery systems can prepare the world for a more effective response to future pandemics.
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- Health Care
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The Implications of Global Health Equity: Why Pursuing Equity May Actually Harm the Poor
The concept of global health equity has gained traction in universities, governments, global health organizations and even some businesses. But Paul Clyde at the William Davidson Institute argues that it's important to think carefully about the implications of this goal before pursuing it. He explains how improvements to healthcare in poor populations often begin with improvements in wealthier populations, and how actions taken or discouraged in the name of equity can do more harm than good in poor communities.
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- Health Care
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AI in African Healthcare: The Good, the Bad and the RECKLESS
Artificial intelligence (AI) can have a major positive impact on the cost and quality of healthcare in emerging economies. But as AI gains traction in Africa's healthcare market, Mark Wien at PocketPatientMD calls out an alarming trend: New AI solutions are being introduced into actual practice without the proper safeguards, standards and scrutiny. And even worse, these solutions are often being developed by non-medical professionals and technologists, who rush to roll out new tools without caution — and without acknowledging or perhaps even understanding the risks they pose to vulnerable patients and health systems. He urges Africa's healthcare industry — including doctors themselves — to address this issue with the seriousness it deserves.
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- Health Care, Technology
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Private Sector Engagement: The Missing Ingredient in Pandemic and Epidemic Preparedness and Response Plans
At the World Health Assembly's annual meeting in May, delegates will discuss and agree upon a plan to respond to future pandemics. In advance of this crucial meeting, Frida Njogu-Ndongwe and Emily Coppel at IDinsight argue that COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks have highlighted a clear need for the private sector to help finance and implement emergency response plans for future epidemics and pandemics. They explain how engaging the private sector in these plans can enable timely, broad-reaching action that could prevent — or minimize the impact of — future outbreaks.
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- Health Care, Investing
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A Pivotal Moment to Invest in Africa: How Impact Investing Can Transform the Continent’s Healthcare Value Chain
The global impact investment market is estimated to be worth US $1.16 trillion, but less than 2% of these investments are channeled to Africa’s health markets. Abiodun Awosusi at the Ivey Business School argues that this should not be the case, as the continent offers uniquely valuable opportunities for health businesses and the investors that support them. He explores the overlapping trends that are driving these opportunities, and shares some ways investors and other stakeholders can get involved.
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- Health Care, Investing, Social Enterprise
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The Global Digital Health Monitor: A New Resource Advances the Digital Transformation of Global Health Systems
COVID-19 catalyzed the scaling of a variety of digital health interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). But as Patricia Mechael at HealthEnabled points out, this has not translated into the sustained digital transformation of healthcare in many of these markets. As broader technological advancements create a strong enabling environment for digital health in LMICs, she explores how a new resource, the Global Digital Health Monitor, can help these countries strategically advance their digital health transformation.
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- Health Care, Investing, Technology, Telecommunications
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