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Can Satellites Solve the Farmer Suicide Crisis in India?
Researchers from the University of California, Berkley, have found a strong correlation between rising temperatures and the rate of suicides, with an increase of 1 Celsius associated with an average of about 70 additional suicides per day. Droughts have ravaged the country’s crop yields, sharply reducing farmers’ income across the sector and disrupting the predictability of revenue.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- agtech, climate change
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Doctors on the cusp of launching the first male contraceptive
Despite a survey from 2000 that found 83 percent of men from various countries would take a contraceptive, pharmaceutical companies seem reluctant to pursue a male contraceptive beyond what is already on the market. Without backing from big pharma, some small companies are receiving grants from large public health organizations, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which in 2016 donated $600,000 for the development of male contraceptives.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Johnson & Johnson launches $600k global e-health challenge
International healthcare firm Johnson & Johnson has launched the GenH Challenge, a global social venture competition that will award a total of US$600,000 in cash prizes to locally-tailored and globally-relevant solutions to enduring health challenges.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Viewpoint: Marginalized Returns: Impact investing has been seduced by a false narrative of combining social impact with financial gains
Impact investing was originally created to improve the lives of others; that impact investing could also deliver financial returns to investors was a means to that end. But nowadays, achieving predefined financial returns has become the primary goal, with the needs of investors taking priority over the interests of the communities their funding seeks to benefit. This trend has fueled a growing mismatch between the supply of impact investment and the demand for funding from enterprises working to improve conditions for marginalized communities.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
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Viewpoint: Why I believe the US State Department is wrong about mobile money in Africa
The US Department of State recently released a report that identified mobile money services as particularly susceptible to money laundering in Africa. It cites services like M-PESA and M-Shwari as “services [that] remain vulnerable to money laundering activities”.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Funny money in Myanmar’s fintech sector
A prominent mobile money company appears to be flaunting regulations aimed at providing consumer protections in the burgeoning sector.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
- Tags
- fintech, mobile finance
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Google expands its public Wi-Fi program for emerging markets to Indonesia
The project is quite simple, it offers a free way to get online with a decent quality internet connection. The idea is that beyond making it easy to get public Wi-Fi — because let’s face it, it is usually a struggle — Google Station offers connectivity those who might otherwise be unable to afford it, or perhaps even unaware of it entirely.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Q&A: A conversation with Hilton Foundation CEO, Dhaka-awardee on health solutions
“It is easily, easily treatable if you know how to treat it,” said Clemens, a medical doctor with a background in infectious diseases. “The problem is that in many places where cholera occurs, the local health care providers and physicians don’t have the experience.”
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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