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Growing disease burden to drive pharma boom in Nigeria, Africa
Huge opportunities are in the offing for local drug manufacturers including Fidson Healthcare plc GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Nigeria and East Africa region (NEAR), Evans Medicals, Swipha, and Neimeth Pharmaceuticals, to grow their revenues on the back of recent surge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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Why Motorcycles are Critical to Health in Rural Africa
The motorcycle. Even though from an early age I was fascinated by the engineering, it has always meant fun and freedom. That is until 25 years ago, when my husband Barry and I started Riders for Health.Barry had always had a similar interest in the incredibly perfect technology that is the motorcycle and its engine. And we founded Riders for Health to concentrate on the efficient running of this technology to deliver health care to millions of people living in communities in rural Africa.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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A ‘fishy’ way to prevent dengue
The Asian Development Bank and the World Health Organization have found their latest weapon against dengue-carrying mosquitoes: larvae-eating guppy fish. A recent trial study in select villages in Cambodia and Laos found out dengue cases can be significantly reduced by putting the fish in water tanks and containers near the stagnant water areas where the insects thrive especially during the rainy season.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
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The toughest job in Nigerian healthcare
Midway through our interview the power cuts and the room is thrown into darkness. We are at Nigeria's National Primary Healthcare Development Agency to talk to its chief executive about the issues facing his nation – and sporadic electricity supply is just one. Dr Ado Jimada Gana Muhammad has arguably the toughest job in Nigerian healthcare.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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Dispatches from the Field: Transforming Breast Cancer Care in Rural Africa
To a Ugandan woman, “a diagnosis of breast cancer is like a death sentence,” explains Kristen DeStigter, MD, Vice Chair of the Department of Radiology at Fletcher Allen. Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer in Ugandan women, with more than 75 percent of patients diagnosed with stage III or stage IV cancer. DeStigter, the co-founder of Imaging the World (ITW), hopes her program can change that. ITW brings ultrasound training, technology, and telemedicine to rural parts of low-income countries, and promises cost-effective, sustainable breast cancer detection, remote diagnosis, and greater breast cancer awareness.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Millennium Development goals in rural Africa get $100 million boost
In 2011, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Earth Institute (Columbia University) formed a partnership to work with African nations to support their efforts to end extreme poverty. On Tuesday, the IsDB and the Earth Institute and its partner, Millennium Promise, announced that the IsDB and its poverty reduction arm, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), have now extended more than $100 million in financing to help eight African nations combat extreme poverty, improve public health and achieve more sustainable development.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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NextDrop Uses Big Data, Texting To Improve Water Distribution
The proliferation of mobile-supported business models in India is substantial. Given its ubiquity amongst lower-income groups, mobile technology is recognized as a maximum impact tool, particularly for grassroots data collection. This “tech” model of social entrepreneurship has become the norm not only in India, but also in other emerging markets throughout Asia, Africa and South America.Case in point: NextDrop, a social enterprise launched in 2011, is simplifying urban water collection in India. With its “Smart Grid ‘Lite’” solution, the enterprise collects and shares water delivery information with city residents and water utilities. In this way, efficiency and transparency are improved upon.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- public health
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Developing Healthier Habits
Health-care companies facing a host of profit-threatening conditions—such as pricing pressures, patent expirations and sluggish economic growth in mature markets—are beginning to build some immunity by boosting their exposure to the developing world.According to Julia Giguere, a senior analyst who covers the health-care sector for MSCI ESG Research in Boston, developing countries are experiencing stronger economic and population growth than the developed world. They also boast rising middle classes and they increasingly need products that can address shifting disease burdens.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Tags
- impact investing