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Five Studies: Why IUDs Are Poised to Become the Future of Birth Control
After decades out of favor, the intrauterine device is making a comeback. This small, T-shaped form of birth control, which is placed in a woman’s uterus and prevents pregnancy for between three and 10 years, has carried a stigma in the United States ever since the 1970s, when one notoriously flawed model, the Dalkon Shield, caused septic miscarriages and infertility in thousands of American women. But now, health-care providers are trumpeting the safety—and efficacy—of the models currently on the market. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists concluded as early as 2005 that IUDs and hormonal implants (which are inserted in a woman’s arm) are the most reliable forms of birth control, and should be among the top options offered to all women; the American Academy of Pediatrics released a similar recommendation in 2014.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Uber Links With Kia to Expand Fivefold in Africa’s Biggest City
Uber Technologies Inc. is negotiating cheaper deals for new vehicles with Kia Motors Corp. to boost its number of drivers fivefold in the Nigerian city of Lagos, Africa’s biggest, to 3,000 by the end of next year.
- Categories
- Technology, Transportation
- Tags
- transportation
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Viewpoint: The Case for Islamic Microfinance in Africa
Professor Badr El Din A. Ibrahim, President of the Microfinance Unit at the Central Bank of Sudan, discusses why Shari'ah-compliant financing is key.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Muhammad Yunus’ Firm in Talks for Social Business JVs in India
Nobel laureate and founder of Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus, is all set to roll out his flagship social business, in a joint venture with corporates in India soon. Yunus’ social business marketing company — Yunus Social Business (YSB) India —is in talks with a slew of corporates in India who can be joint venture partners in the social business venture, a model where profits are ploughed back to the company. These profits can be then used for employment generation and affordable healthcare.
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- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Iluméxico to Bring Solar Energy to 300,000 in Mexico’s Off-Grid Communities
Iluméxico, the Mexican social enterprise focused on solar power, has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to bring its Solar Home Systems to 50,000 off-the-grid rural homes – approximately 300,000 people – by 2020. This commitment includes the creation of 180 new jobs, of which 90 will be designated for women and 70 will be based in rural communities.
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- Energy
- Region
- Latin America
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Mobile Lender InVenture Raises $10 Million
InVenture Capital Corp., a provider of small loans by cellphones, has raised $10 million in Series A funding, Yuliya Chernova reports for Dow Jones VentureWire. The company has a mobile app that can be downloaded by users, who then can request a loan. Once the user has granted the app access to their device, the company’s algorithm evaluates the activity on their mobile money accounts, such as how much they deposit and withdraw, the timeliness of their utility bill payments, and thousands of other nuggets of information such as social media, demographic, and communications patterns, to make a loan decision in minutes. The company currently operates in Kenya and Tanzania. Data Collective led the Series A round, which includedLowercase Capital, Collaborative Fund, Female Founders Fund and individual investors.
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- Uncategorized
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Tapping New Sources to Raise Funds on Healthcare Research
Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have been left out on technology investments in healthcare research due to the huge financial needs and difficulties in sourcing them.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Five Key Findings From the 2015 Financial and Digital Inclusion Project Report & Scorecard
Convenient access to banking infrastructure is something many people around the world take for granted. Yet while the number of people outside the formal financial system has substantially decreased in recent years, 2 billion adults still do not have an account with a formal financial institution or mobile money provider.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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