-
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is paying off Nigeria’s $76 million polio debt
The news comes as Nigeria counts down to becoming polio free and completing another year without the discovery of any new cases. No new cases were recorded in 2017. That’s a far cry from 2012 when Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
-
Perspective: If we want to improve global health, we need to tax the things that are killing us
Today, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and I announced the Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health. We are bringing together fiscal-policy, development and health leaders from around the globe, including ministers of finance, to address the enormous and growing health and economic burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The hope is to identify underused fiscal-policy tools to lighten that burden.
- Categories
- Health Care
-
Press release: IIX Supports India-based ERC Eye Care in Securing US$1 Million Investment
ERC Eye Care (ERC), an impact enterprise that delivers accessible, affordable and inclusive eye care to low-income persons in Northeast India, has raised a US$1 million pre-Series A round. A consortium of five investors was brought together by Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), led by existing investors Ankur Capital and Ennovent. Amongst the round’s investors was a strategic investment from the North East Development Finance Initiative (NEDFi), a Government of India initiative making its first impact-focused investment. Two international investors from Japan and Europe also participated in the consortium.
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment
- Region
- South Asia
-
Bill Gates Says Private Sector Can Profit From Public Health
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation wants corporations to join its efforts in advancing public health, not just because it’s the right thing to do -- but because it can be lucrative too.
- Categories
- Health Care
-
As Africa grows more prosperous, obesity grows as a problem
A World Health Organization survey last year found that 15.3% of African women are obese, up from 11.4% a decade earlier. The rate for men more than doubled to 5.6% from 2.5%.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- nutrition, public health
-
Perspective: A Digital Finance Prescription for Universal Health Coverage
There are some obvious opportunities for financial services to play a role in achieving universal health coverage. Savings accounts can help people plan for health expenses, access to credit can mean the difference between getting needed care and not, and insurance can help mitigate against health shocks that too often push people deeper into poverty. Offering these products to low-income customers is traditionally risky and expensive, but that picture is quickly changing with the growth of digital financial services (DFS), which leverage digital channels to reach more remote customers at lower cost.
- Categories
- Finance, Health Care
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech, SDGs
-
New Impact Investing Fund Will Support Nonprofits And Better Health Outcomes
AIM Healthy loans and lines of credit can, for example, help a recuperative-care nonprofit to add beds that provide a bridge between the hospital and permanent housing – combatting homelessness as well as hospital and jail readmissions, or a food-as-medicine nonprofit to partner with a health plan to lower costs and improve outcomes for patients with chronic diseases.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
- Region
- North America
-
UN health agency launches first global monitoring system for dementia
The United Nations health agency (last) Thursday launched the first global monitoring system for dementia, which is expected to affect 152 million people worldwide by 2050 – triple the current 50 million – amid the aging of the global population.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- public health
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.