NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Health Tests at Your Doorstep

KOCHI: At daybreak, around 40 women in the city set out on their rounds to do medical tests. They conduct routine tests for over 750 persons that are quite cost-effective. These women are part of the Saantwanam project, a poverty-alleviation as well as health-oriented programme organised jointly by the Health Action by People (Thiruvananthapuram), Kudumbashree, and State Bank of India. The women visit houses and take instant readings of blood glucose(...

Source

IBN Live (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

IIT Fest to Focus on Environment, Rural Aid, Empowering Rural Folk

CHENNAI: This year, Shaastra, the annual technical festival of the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, will be all about saving the environment and empowering people in rural areas to do the same. It will be held from September 28 to October 2. The Shaastra Social Innovation Challenge, a new event, is expected to have a direct impact on rural India. The problem statement includes designing a solar cooker to replace traditional wood-based cooking and designing a fully autonomous rob...

Source

The Times of India (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Esther Duflo Bribes India’s Poor to Health

Rajasthan is India’s desert state, an often inhospitable place where per capita income averages around $1.77 per day. Poverty like that--understanding it and imagining ways to fix it--is what Esther Duflo lives for. Since 2003, her Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (named for a wealthy Saudi donor), or J-PAL, has conducted 240 randomized, controlled trials of specific ways to help the poor. She tests poverty solutions the way medical researchers test new drugs, which can violate the p...

Source

Fast Company (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Energy

Region

South Asia

Tags

solar

Half of Microcredit Goes to Well-off People: Study

Although the microfinance concept was developed to assist marginal people to address poverty, around 50 percent of micro credit goes to the well-off, reports UNB. "A lot of microcredit is wasted on the well-off; there is yet another problem that many of the poorer households do not benefit from it," said Prof SR Osmani, teacher of Development Economics at the University of Ulster, UK and a visiting fellow of Institute of Microfinance in Dhaka. Referring to the findings o...

Source

The Financial Express (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

India Taps Communication Tools to Transform Villages

Several Indian companies are relying on a host of communication technologies to bridge the digital divide by offering sustainable solutions for rural India. Some 70 percent of India’s population, or nearly 750 million people, live in villages but contribute just 30 percent of country’s GDP. This is likely why rural consumers have long been ignored by marketers. However, this is gradually changing, especially since the rural share of consumer goods today is...

Source

ZDNet (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Tags

poverty alleviation

Mobile Phone Technology for Development in Bangladesh

Tahmima Anam, a Bangladeshi writer in India to promote her latest book, said in a recent interview that Dhaka is a city bursting at the seams but with a surprisingly tangible energy of possibility. This energy-often driven by an overwhelming necessity to act quickly in a country of extreme poverty-has ignited innovation in many areas, development included. Bangladesh’...

Source

Beyond Profit (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Microfinance Meets Micro Healthcare

In an attempt to provide affordable micro health program to the underserved sections of the society, Mysore (Karnataka, India) based healthcare consultancy and service provider Suddanand Healthcare has developed a symbiotic relationship with microfinance institutions in Karnataka. Utilizing the existing customer base infrastructure of MFIs in the state, Suddanand Healthcare program is ensuring higher efficiency, standardization of charges, greater awareness and penetration of health car...

Source

Microfinance Focus (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia

Five Most Innovative Social Entrepreneurs

Bangalore: It is still a matter of discussion, whether entrepreneurship is born or inbuilt; however, there are many who have succeeded to create a niche for themselves in the business world by doing something out of the league. These are the social entrepreneurs who thought of bringing in certain reform in the society rather than just enjoying the pleasant sound of coins. Bindeshwar Pathak An Indian sociologist, Bindeshwar Pathak is the found...

Source

Silicon India (link opens in a new window)

Region

South Asia