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Need Blind: Vision Spring and Warby Parker Shake Up Eyewear With Impact
Social enterprises Warby Parker and VisionSpring are finding innovative ways to bring glasses to people who can’t afford huge markups. VisionSpring, a nonprofit social enterprise, focuses on selling low-cost glasses to people earning between $1 and $4 per day. Warby Parker, a for-profit B-Corp, sells affordable eyewear in the domestic market while donating a pair of frames to VisionSpring for each pair it sells.
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- public health
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Now for some good news:Two books argue that the future is brighter than we think
The lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a small device with a huge potential. It can run dozens of diagnostic tests on human DNA in a few minutes. Give the device a gob of spit or a drop of blood and it will tell you whether or not you are sick without any need to send your DNA to a laboratory. In poor countries LOCs could offer diagnostics to millions who lack access to expensive laboratories. In the rich world they may curb rising medical costs.
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment, Technology
- Tags
- public health
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Community Workers Help to Bridge Treatment Gap in Mental Health
Training lay people can play a crucial role in helping to deliver effective care for depression and anxiety in resource-poor, primary healthcare settings
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Social Innovators Seek to Balance Economic Sustainability and Impact
Bridging the digital-divide in India has long been a cherished dream. While much is yet to happen, IT industry body Nasscom has taken initial steps to identify business models that can change the access of technology at the bottom of the pyramid.This year too, Nasscom presented awards to six businesses that are trying to bring social innovation. The awards showcase the impact and learnings from the ideas of winners that have gained shape, acceptance and success.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care, Impact Assessment
- Region
- South Asia
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The Future of mHealth: Mobile Phones Improve Care in Developing World
People in developing nations depend on mobile phones to access health services and prevent disease, as mobile technology creates a platform for improving healthcare in remote, underserved areas.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Tags
- public health
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Benin Makes Headway in Attempt to Reduce Deaths from Malaria
Last year Benin announced free treatment for malaria, and has now followed up by cracking down on fake drugs and recruiting an army of outreach health workers
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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U.C. Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley Lab Part of White House Poverty Push
Both the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory above it on the hill are part of a public-private push to fight poverty around the world.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Indian Eye Clinic Uses Tiered Pricing to Combat Blindness Among Poor
An expanding network of eye clinics has found an innovative way of providing quality, affordable treatment to millions of blind and visually impaired poor people in India
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia