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South Africa is First Middle-Income Country to Fund Impact Bonds for Early Childhood Development
March 18 was an historic day for early childhood development (ECD) financing—the Departments of Social Development and Health of the Western Cape province of South Africa committed 25 million rand ($1.62 million) in outcome funding for three social impact bonds (SIBs) for maternal and early childhood outcomes. This is the first ever funding committed by a middle-income government for a SIB—to date no low-income country governments have participated in a SIB either—making South Africa’s choice to pioneer this new path especially exciting.
- Categories
- Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact bonds
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Norway Strengthens Commitment to Immunisation in Developing Countries
Børge Brende, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, today signed an agreement that will see Norway commit NOK 6.25 billion (US$ 850 million) to support the immunisation of children living in the world’s poorest countries between 2016 and 2020.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- vaccines
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Can Bitcoin Be Used for Good?
Something strange is happening to Bitcoin. Once viewed as a way to do business in the darkest corners of the web, the digital currency has rather suddenly become a favorite talking point among humanitarians and international development enthusiasts.
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- Uncategorized
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14% of Africans Pay Bribe for Health Care
One in seven representing 14% of Africans pay bribe or induce officials to access health services, according to a new survey.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Nomanini Integrates With M-Pesa for Merchant Cash-In
South Africa-based enterprise payments platform provider, Nomanini has announced it has integrated with M-Pesa in Mozambique, enabled via its local country partner, Mozambique Mobile Solutions (MMS). The move will allow merchants to use mobile money agents to top up their virtual vending accounts on Nomanini terminals.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Why Partnerships Are Crucial for Pushing Vaccine R&D Forward
Students in the Philippines began receiving doses of the world’s first dengue vaccine this week, as the country begins a public immunization program to inoculate 1 million children in 6,000 schools across the island nation.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Pfizer May Leverage European Approval to Pneumonia Vaccine in Indian Market
New York-headquartered pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is likely to leverage its latest European approval for multi-dose vials of pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13 in the Indian market.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- vaccines
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Pakistan Unveils First Domestic Payment Gateway
Pakistan on Tuesday unveiled the country’s first domestic payment scheme ‘PayPak’ to facilitate ecommerce and improve financial inclusion.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
