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Scratch it Off the Public Health Wish-list: A menu of IT solutions for global health challenges
Observing the widespread use of ICT, coupled with intense interest from the global health community—witness, a few of my colleagues at the Center for Health Market Innovations set out to figure out why programs used technology. To answer this question, they analyzed more than 600 programs in over 100 countries—the contents of CHMI’s database at the time. Their findings, published in this month’s WHO Bulletin, highlight six key reasons health program managers adopt ICT.
- Categories
- Health Care, Social Enterprise, Technology
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What Impact Investing Could Do For Health Care
In his TedMed talk last week, where he called for a renewed focus on improving root causes of health problems rather than waiting until they cause full blown illnesses, Sandeep Kishore noted this somewhat startling statistic: Of the 30 years of average life-expectancy gains the United States made in the last century, a surprisingly small amount of that average increase--just five years--stems from improvements in the sort of medical care we get in hospitals. The rest of those gains came from other sources, like improvements in water quality and sanitation, vaccinations, and other improvements in public health.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- impact investing
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Ripe for Innovation: Democratized Diagnostics for the BoP
Healthcare diagnostics might seem like a peculiar call-out, but a few examples suggest that this space is ripe for innovation – especially at the BoP – and with far-reaching implications.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
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Forus Health Raises $5 Million From Accel Partners & IDG Ventures India
Bangalore-based affordable medical technology and solutions company Forus Health Pvt. Ltd. (Forus) has successfully raised Series A funding of $5 million from two leading venture capital funds, Accel Partners and IDG Ventures India.Forus's mission is to address the healthcare delivery issues in the developing world through innovative, inclusive product design and service deployment. Its flagship product 3nethra, a portable, low cost, non-mydriatic, non-invasive pre-screening ophthalmology solution, can detect Cataract, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retina, Refraction and Cornea problems. 3nethra can be operated by a minimally trained technician, and can be deployed in remote areas.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Buy More and Better Bednets for the Money, Says New Report
On World Malaria Day, a new report analysis the anti-malarial bednet market and concludes that we could get better value, more innovation and even more nets from the same amount of funds.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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NexThought Monday: A New Model for Investment in African Healthcare
Despite rapid growth, healthcare investment in Africa continues to lag well behind other sectors. There is little private investment and/or risk capital available for most of Africa. But according to Onno Schellekens, managing director of the $50 million euro Investment Fund for Health in Africa and co-founder of the Health Insurance Fund and Medical Credit Fund, this can be changed.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- public health
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Global Sanitation Target Under Threat
UN high-level meeting is expected to call on world leaders to support the 57 countries currently most off-track to achieve their millennium development goal targets for sanitation.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
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In Telemedicine, Often Old Habits Prove Bigger Challenge Than Technology Hurdles
In the rural town of Juvvalapalem, most residents seek the local Rural Medical Practitioners (also known as quacks) when they need medical treatment. This is just one of the challenges we’re dealing with at GloCare, an initiative to provide market-driven quality healthcare solutions to underserved populations through telemedicine.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology, Telecommunications
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