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The Catch-22 in Global Health Finance: Why Medical Oxygen is the Test Case for Turning Aid into Investment
By most measures, medical oxygen in sub-Saharan Africa isn’t an investable market. As Alex Losneanu and Jason Houdek at Oxygen CoLab explain, providing medical oxygen is capital-intensive and operationally demanding. That means small- and medium-sized oxygen suppliers typically stall out or get absorbed into grant-funded programs instead of becoming commercially viable, and funders conclude that these SMEs are too fragile to justify the investment risk. They argue that this conclusion is wrong, and also self-fulfilling, reinforcing a Catch-22 that exists across global health. They share findings from a supplier mapping project that show how emerging business models are enabling oxygen SMEs to scale, and propose three shifts in how catalytic capital can be designed to support these and other businesses across the global health sector.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
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Africa’s Second-Richest Billionaire Takes Full Control of Major Private Hospital Network in $947 Million Deal
South African billionaire Johann Rupert has strengthened his grip on the country’s private healthcare industry after investment holding company Remgro completed its $947 million (R15.56 billion) acquisition of full ownership of Mediclinic Southern Africa.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mastering the Art of Stewardship: Why Building Operational Sovereignty — Not Simply Navigating Funding Cuts — Will Define Africa’s Healthcare Future
In response to drastic cuts in global health financing, African governments are increasingly seeking greater health sovereignty — i.e., the ability to manage their health systems without structural dependence on external actors. But according to Scott Dubin at Logistics Marketplace, limited fiscal space is complicating their efforts to replace the often-fragmented and overlapping support structures that have long been provided by multilateral health funds, international NGOs and other outside entities. He explores how Africa's movement toward health sovereignty is revealing deeper capacity gaps in the continent's health systems, and proposes seven practical ways governments can effectively steward the markets and systems that support public health delivery.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Visible From Space: New Research on Zipline’s Impact in Africa Beyond Healthcare
The findings document a 22% reduction in child fatalities from severe acute malnutrition, a 68% direct return on investment for smallholder pig farmers, and $850 to $1,200 in additional annual household income near Zipline distribution hubs.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Duke-Nus Awarded €2 Million EU Grant to Help Asia Detect Outbreaks Earlier Through Wastewater Surveillance
The three-year project, ADWANCE-Asia or Advancing Wastewater & Environmental Surveillance for Public Health Impact in Asia, will be led by the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness and will support countries in the region, particularly low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- Categories
- Environment
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Melinda French Gates Commits $215 Million to Women’s Health, Bringing Two-Year Total to Over $600 Million
The new funding includes $40 million to Co-Impact for an initiative embedding mental health support into maternal and primary care, particularly in Africa.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Global
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South Africa Rolls Out Game-Changing HIV Shot Amid Funding Shortfalls
Currently, access is being hampered by two things: the fact the Trump administration slashed the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding to South Africa last year, and the lack of a cheap generic.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Five Early Observations as Global Health Transition Accelerates
What has happened over the past two years should serve as a warning, and planning for the current reality means differentiating where limited technical assistance resources go based on transition timelines, portfolio size, and feasibility rather than applying the same framework everywhere.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
- Region
- Global
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