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From COVID to Foreign Aid Cuts: How Community-Led Financial Access Can Help Women and Their Communities Weather Crises
The COVID pandemic had a substantial impact on women’s financial access in many emerging economies — an impact that persists to this day. Now, as Kathy Guis at Kiva explains, a new crisis is building, as foreign aid cuts and broader macroeconomic uncertainty reduce funding to financial service providers focused on women’s inclusion. She argues that despite the urgency of other global issues, access to financial services matters, and explores how Kiva hopes to grow its support for women and other vulnerable populations despite the challenging funding environment.
- Categories
- Finance
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The Success of Climate Health Initiatives Depends on Buy-in From Government Leaders
IFC's interview with Estelle Willie at The Rockefeller Foundation explores building resilient health systems through a climate lens.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: The Pandemic Fund Announces Third Round of Funding, Marking Another Milestone in Pandemic Preparedness
Interested countries, Regional Entities, and Implementing Entities will be able to submit proposals through an online portal starting in March 2025.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- COVID-19, public health, scale
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Developing Vaccine Infrastructure in the Age of COVID Fatigue: How Strengthening Influenza Vaccination Systems Can Prepare Us for the Next Pandemic
It's widely known in the global health community that we must prepare for the inevitable emergence of another pandemic. But as Joseph Bresee at the Task Force for Global Health explains, this threat no longer feels urgent to many people who are still exhausted from fighting COVID-19 and other global threats. And though advances in vaccine development provide reasons for hope, building the systems that deliver them is difficult and time-consuming. He explores how stabilizing and expanding global influenza vaccine delivery systems can prepare the world for a more effective response to future pandemics.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Absa Secures $150 Million from UK’s BII to Boost African SME Trade Financing
Absa Group partners with British International Investment (BII) to secure $150 million trade financing facility for African SMEs in agriculture and healthcare sectors.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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World Bank: Poorest Countries Facing Worst Debt Since 2006
The 26 poorest nations in the world are more heavily in debt than any time in the last 18 years, according to a new report. Climate change and conflict are major drivers of poverty in the affected countries.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
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Supporting the Resilience of Small Businesses in India: The Value of Flexible Funding During a Crisis
Over 122 million people in India lost their jobs during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in April of 2020, and small traders and wage workers accounted for around 75% of those job losses. Amit Choudhary at Upaya Social Ventures explores how Upaya pivoted to support small businesses during that challenging time, discussing the evolving funding strategies it used — and how these approaches can provide a model for the broader impact investing sector during periods of crisis.
- Categories
- Investing
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The Implications of Global Health Equity: Why Pursuing Equity May Actually Harm the Poor
The concept of global health equity has gained traction in universities, governments, global health organizations and even some businesses. But Paul Clyde at the William Davidson Institute argues that it's important to think carefully about the implications of this goal before pursuing it. He explains how improvements to healthcare in poor populations often begin with improvements in wealthier populations, and how actions taken or discouraged in the name of equity can do more harm than good in poor communities.
- Categories
- Health Care