-
Unitus fund’s latest StartHealth winners spotlight rise of medical tech innovation in India
Unitus Seed Fund, one of India's best-known impact venture funds that backs early-stage startups innovating for the masses, has named two winners of its StartHealth startup contest, which show medical tech innovation is taking off in India.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
-
The Dirty Secret of Social Enterprise: Scale is Overrated
Author Jonathan C. Lewis writes that for some staggering societal problems – like deaths from child poverty and modern-day slavery – scaling solutions is an urgent necessity. However, for social entrepreneurs, he says the important thing is not organizational size, geographic coverage or budget, but progress toward social justice. He urges leaders to focus less on size and more on striving to maintain balance.
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
-
Dissolvable patch offers radical pain-free alternative to flu injection, study finds
“I think this product would greatly simplify access to vaccines and perhaps improve coverage as well,” said Nadine Rouphael, a co-author of the research and associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.
- Categories
- Health Care
-
The World Bank’s “pandemic bonds” are designed so investors pay in the event of an outbreak
The money raised comprises the bulk of a $500 million Pandemic Emergency Financial Facility that will provide funds for poor countries in case of outbreaks of infectious diseases over the next five years. The bonds are designed to transfer the risk of a health crisis in low-income countries to the global financial markets. World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said this will help move away from “the cycle of panic and neglect” that has characterized recent pandemics.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- public health
-
Q&A: Rajeev Venkayya on why vaccines are a worthy investment
Venkayya has seen vaccines from every angle. Before launching Takeda’s global vaccine business five years ago, he served as senior director for biodefense at the White House and director of global health delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The success of vaccines going forward, he says, requires public and policy support for investments “to make sure that we're driving strong immunization coverage everywhere but also investing in new vaccines for the diseases that should be vaccine preventable,” he said.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- public health, vaccines
-
Reinventing the toilet
Traditional flush toilets aren’t an option in many parts of the world, but neither is leaving people with unsafe and unhygenic choices. Now, one company is piloting a new loo that's waterless, off-grid and able to charge your phone. Lina Zeldovich travels to Madagascar to witness the start of a lavatorial revolution.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health, SDGs
-
India turns to the private sector to bring health care to underserved areas
Public health care institutions — ranging from primary health centers that form the backbone of the system in rural areas to larger district-level hospitals — are hampered by a lack of manpower and inadequate resources such as diagnostics, pathology services and stock-outs. As a result, most people rely on the private sector for health care, which provides almost 80 percent of outpatient and 60 percent of inpatient care.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
-
Startups abound, healthcare no longer a distant dream
“With this technology the remote doctors are able to monitor the patients all year, in all seasons. The equipment significantly increases the reach and effectiveness of the hospital,” said Swami Ekdevananda at Advaita Ashrama in Uttarakhand.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
Subscribe to Our 'Business in Global Development' Newsletter!
Our new weekly LinkedIn newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with curated news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage of impact-focused business in emerging markets.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.