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What a Western Union, MoneyGram Merger Would Mean to Africa
Shares in MoneyGram International, one of the largest money transfer firm s in the world, rallied as much as 41 percent after Bloomberg, citing sources close to the deal, reported that the industry leader Western Union was in “early stage” talks to acquire MoneyGram.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Social Media Can Be Used to Track Disease Outbreaks
A full nine days before Ebola was even recognized by the World Health Organizations as an epidemic there was something else. HealthMap, a software that mines government websites, social networks and local news reports, identified a “mystery hemorrhagic fever” that was going around.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Another Use for Mobile in Microfinance: Getting Honest Feedback On Sensitive Topics
When our team first started doing this work four years ago, I used to get asked all the time, "So are you giving out mobile phones?" We use mobile technology to reach invisible populations like factory workers, farmers and, most recently, microfinance borrowers. In the last four years, mobile penetration has continued to skyrocket. India has three times as many mobile phones as the United States, and 78 percent mobile penetration. So the answer is no, we do not need to give out mobile phones.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Smartphone Camera Turned Microscope Could Revolutionize Healthcare in Africa
A device that can turn your smartphone camera into a microscope may change the health landscape of Africa where shortage of diagnostic infrastructure has jeopardized public health.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Viewpoint: India’s Chilling Crackdown on Charitable Organizations “Smacks of Political Payback”
The Ford Foundation is among the world’s best-known charitable organizations, dispensing billions of dollars globally for projects aimed at reducing poverty, fighting injustice, improving education and advancing democracy.
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- governance, philanthropy
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Press Release: A Commitment to Improve Global Health Information
WHO and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding defining areas where they will work together to improve the quality and use of global health estimates to measure the world’s health challenges.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Viewpoint: Top Philanthropy Board and Staff Are Paid Over $600 Million a Year. Is That Too Much?
Not long ago, I wrote about the Ford Foundation's overhead expenses, pointing that it had spent over $1 billion in the past decade on personnel and office space. That's a shocking amount of money that never made it to poor people or starving artists or struggling students or others in need.
- Tags
- philanthropy
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Viewpoint: Is This the Big Solution to Failing WASH Projects We’ve Been Waiting for?
Water and sanitation projects often go something like this: NGOs show up with equipment, money, and people on hand, drill a well or install sanitation systems and then leave. A handful of locals are typically trained on upkeep and minor infrastructure repairs, but this isn’t always the case. If the wells need to be repointed or major leaks or breaks occur in the pipes, the communities are out of luck. As a result of the dig-and-dash approach, well-meaning projects end up abandoned and communities go back to contaminated water, which can lead to enteric illness and death, as well as economic setbacks.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
- Tags
- philanthropy
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