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54gene’s Fund to increase coronavirus testing in Nigeria hits $500,000 in 24hrs
54gene, the African genomics research, services, and development company, has launched a fund to tackle the current challenges around testing for COVID-19 in Nigeria. To support the ongoing efforts of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control [NCDC], 54gene opened the fund by donating $150,000 and within 24 hours of launch, had already secured an additional $350,000 from partners including Union Bank. The money raised will help increase COVID-19 testing capacity in the country by up to 1,000 additional tests a day, by buying testing instruments and the required biosafety materials such as biosafety cabinets and personal protective equipment needed to keep frontline healthcare workers safe.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Investing, Technology
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Social Distancing Is Not an Option for India’s Poor
Modi has announced a lockdown, but the strategies adopted in other countries simply aren’t possible for millions of Indians.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- public health
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WHO Launches Global Health Alert for Coronavirus on WhatsApp
The services uses an AI chatbot to provide updated information on the pandemic, including how to protect yourself, questions and answers, and the latest news and press coverage.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Technology
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Lights, Camera – Health Education: How Animated Videos are Advancing Maternal Health in India and Beyond
In India, there is just one government doctor for every 10,189 people – a situation that often results in poor access to pregnancy-related health care. Without reliable medical advice, many women fall prey to myths and misconceptions about pregnancy and newborn care. MedHealth TV is addressing this issue with animated educational videos in local languages. Its founder, Padma Rammoorthy, discusses the approach and its impact.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care
- Tags
- public health
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Enterprise in the Time of Coronavirus: How NextBillion and the Businesses We Cover Are Responding to the Pandemic
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads around the world, it will have an immense impact on emerging markets communities and the businesses that serve them. So we wanted to take a moment to explain how NextBillion will be responding to these extraordinary times. We’re instituting a number of measures that will affect our coverage of coronavirus and other topics in the coming months.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care, Social Enterprise
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Preventing Coronavirus in an Age of Distrust: The Importance of Cross-Sector Collaboration
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, public health institutions are playing an essential role in containing the virus. Unfortunately, as Steve Schmida at Resonance points out, trust in large institutions is at an all-time low in many countries – and this is a major impediment to preventing the spread of the virus. He explores how governments can partner with both private enterprises and non-profits to boost public trust and promote efforts to contain coronavirus.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
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Coronavirus is Shining a Light on America’s Lack of Paid Sick Leave: Here’s How Savings Can Help
As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, public health authorities are encouraging people to stay home if they're sick. But for many U.S. workers – especially those with lower-incomes and gig economy jobs – taking a sick day is unpaid, so staying home has serious financial implications. Timothy Flacke at Commonwealth highlights this challenge, and discusses how innovative savings solutions can help.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance, Health Care
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A Senegalese Innovation Lab Is Helping the UK Develop a 10-Minute Coronavirus Test Kit
If successfully developed and validated, a much faster way to test and diagnose Covid-19 could prove critical as the virus continues to spread globally with confirmed cases now surpassing 120,000.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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