Global Health Hub: news and blogosphere aggregator » Financing

NPR: Why spending more on women in global health makes sense even if men…

Humanosphere — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:11:00 +0000

If all you do is look at the global health statistics for death and disability, it’s clear that men are doing worse than women. Yet women, and children, tend to get most of the focus and emphasis in global health policy. A recent Lancet paper pointed this out. But NPR quotes one of my favorite … Continue reading →

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NPR: Why spending more on women in global health makes sense even if men…

Texas Medicaid Debate Complicated By Politics And Poverty

GHHub — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:20:49 +0000

When the sun rises over the Rio Grande Valley, the cries of the urracas — blackbirds — perched on the tops of palm trees swell to a noisy, unavoidable cacophony. That is also the strategy, it could be said, that local officials, health care providers and frustrated valley residents are trying to use to persuade Gov. Rick Perry and state Republican lawmakers to set aside their opposition and expand Medicaid, a key provision of the federal health law.

via Texas Medicaid Debate Complicated By Politics And Poverty : Shots – Health News : NPR.

USAID Assessment of Market Information Systems in Africa

ICTworks — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:53:00 +0000

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USAID Assessment of Market Information Systems in Africa

New research on Microinsurance products: implementation, client value,…

Center for Health Market Innovations — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:51:00 +0000

Browse: Click “Read more” to see complete blog entries, scroll down to see the CHMI blog archive.Filter: View posts by topic using the tags on the rightComment: Click “Add New Comment” to add a comment and share your thoughts on a post.Have a question? Check the FAQs first. Don’t see your question? Contact us.

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New research on Microinsurance products: implementation, client value,…

United States of America: Economic Growth & Financial Services…

Eldis Jobs — Sat, 18 May 2013 05:05:00 +0000

Organization: Development and Training Services Country: United States of America Closing date: 17 Jul 2013 Economic Growth and Financial Services Specialist– The individual is responsible for providing technical support to program implementation in one or more of the following technical areas and other related areas as appropriate: Private Sector Engagement (micro & macro), Resource Economics and Financing, Public-Private Partnership and Global Development Alliance (GDA) Development, Sustainable Tourism, Ecotourism, and Recreation Development, Economic Planning and Development, including Income Generation and Diversification, Economic Rent or Fee for Management Program Development, etc. Qualifications ■ Fluency in English ■ MA, PHD, JD or equivalent combination of education and work experience in related field ■ At least 8 years of relevant experience in one of the technical areas listed above ■ Must have a minimum of 3 years working in a developing countries ■ Demonstrated experience in relevant technical areas How to apply: RNIGON@ONLINEDTS.COM

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United States of America: Economic Growth & Financial Services…

Why Measure Coverage?

PLoS Medicine Blog — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:39:00 +0000

Dr. Lucy Chappell, Collection Editor of Measuring Coverage of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, explains what researchers of MNCH in High Income Country settings can learn from the Collection. In the middle of 2012, I took on the task of Collection Editor for the PLOS Collection Measuring Coverage of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health. But what did coverage measurement mean and why should it matter? These last nine months have opened my eyes to the importance of the topic and the challenges that are faced.

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Why Measure Coverage?

From What We Know to What We Do: Now is the Time for Governments to Fix a…

PLoS Medicine Blog — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:33:13 +0000

Kristine Husøy Onarheim and Johanne Helene Iversen from Universities Allied for Essential Medicines write about the broken system for drug development, and how governments are given an opportunity to address it. The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) will meet at the World Health Assembly later this month to discuss WHO’s follow-up of the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group (CEWG) on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination, and the follow-up report issued by the WHO Secretariat after an open-ended member state meeting in November last year. It has long been recognized that “Market mechanisms, and also publicly-funded research, collectively result in far too little investment in research and development on diseases that mainly affect developing countries. This means that poor people suffer and die because there are no effective health technologies like medicines, vaccines or diagnostics”. Discussions on how to ensure innovation of and access to medical technology addressing diseases disproportionally affecting the poor dates back decades, and several commissions and working groups have been set down by the WHO on request from member states to examine the problem and possible solutions

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From What We Know to What We Do: Now is the Time for Governments to Fix a…

Even After Overhaul, Gaps In Coverage For Young, Pregnant Women

Sara Gorman — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:12:23 +0000

The federal health care overhaul makes some notable improvements in insurance coverage for young adults.

They can now stay on their parents’ health plans until they turn 26. Next year they can also look for subsidized coverage on the state-based insurance marketplaces, also called exchanges. And they may qualify for Medicaid, if their income are less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level ($15,856 in 2013).

So far, so good.

But young women who get pregnant may encounter unexpected gaps in coverage. Although the law requires most individual and small group plans to provide maternity and newborn care, large group plans aren’t subject to those rules.

via Even After Overhaul, Gaps In Coverage For Young, Pregnant Women : Shots – Health News : NPR.

West African Healthcare: Problems and Solutions

Global Health Africa — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:19:00 +0000

In this post, Guest Blogger, Udo Obiechefu attempts to start a conversation on some of the issues impacting access and availability of care in West Africa. In his next post, Udo will explore avenues for solving these issues. Enjoy! The issues related to health care delivery and access in West Africa is plentiful. Lack of adequate funding, a small workforce, poor organization, and a dearth of viable private sector solutions are just a few of the many dilemmas preventing countless West Africans from attaining sustainable access to quality care.

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West African Healthcare: Problems and Solutions

Good charities spend more on administration than bad charities

WhyDev.org — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:19:00 +0000

Have you ever heard an NGO try and encourage donations by saying that they have low overheads? Many do it, yet we have known for a while that low overheads are in no way a reflection of good work. In this post, Caroline Fiennes debunks the myth, showing that higher overheads generally correlate with more effective organisations.

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Good charities spend more on administration than bad charities

The price of preventing cervical cancer

SarahBoseley — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:19:00 +0000

The GAVI Alliance has announced that the cost of the HPV vaccine to developing countries, agreed with Merck and GSK, will be $4.50 a dose – a big discount on rich country prices but campaigners say it is too highCervical cancer vaccines for the developing world will cost $4.50 a dose, says the GAVI Alliance today. That is $13.50 per young woman, because each needs three shots. It is a small price to pay for preventing a disease which is a scourge of Africa and Asia – but the bill for immunising whole populations of schoolgirls will be huge.The price has been agreed between the GAVI Alliance – which channels money into vaccine programmes in poor countries – and the two major pharmaceutical companies that manufacture HPV vaccine. They are Merck, which makes Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Cervarix. The prices are a substantial discount on the cost to rich countries like the USA, France and the UK where immunisation programmes are in full swing

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The price of preventing cervical cancer

South Africa to investigate private health market

GHHub — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:42:26 +0000

South African competition authorities will launch an investigation into the private healthcare industry, where early evidence showed high prices and market distortions, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Tuesday.

via South Africa to investigate private health market | Reuters.

Switzerland: Norlha – Programme Officer (source: Relief Web)

Eldis Jobs — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:53:00 +0000

Organization: NORLHA Country: Switzerland Closing date: 22 May 2013 OFFRE N° 3.0.2.6.070513 – Programme Officer Norlha is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious NGO based in Lausanne, Switzerland, with delegations in 3 other European countries (France, Netherlands and Spain). Norlha’s goal is to spur development and reduce poverty in the Himalayas by contributing to the region’s human and economic development through carefully crafted and locally run projects in the sectors of Agriculture, Employment & income, Health, Environment and Education. The organization is committed to support sustainable improvement in the living conditions of the neediest populations in the Himalayas. The organization actively supports impoverished communities with the long-term goal of achieving economic self-sufficiency and the preservation of their culture and dignity.

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Switzerland: Norlha – Programme Officer (source: Relief Web)

Somalia: Consultancy – Gender Responsive Budgeting (source: Relief Web)

Eldis Jobs — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:49:00 +0000

Organization: UN Women Country: Somalia Closing date: 14 May 2013 UN Women (UNW) grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnership with civil society and other relevant actors. Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is an approach that seeks to facilitate coherence between government planning/budgeting and gender equality goals through ensuring that government plans include programmes that address gender gaps and that government budgets include the financial resources necessary to implement such programmes. In 2009, UNIFEM’s GRB programming consisted of a portfolio of cross regional, regional and country level programmes that spanned eleven countries in Africa including Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Cameroon, Zambia, Mali, Niger, Kenya and Ethiopia.

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Somalia: Consultancy – Gender Responsive Budgeting (source: Relief Web)

Experimentation for Better Health: Lessons from the US for Global Health

CGDev — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:30:00 +0000

This is a joint post with Rachel Silverman. In recent weeks, the public health world and political pundits alike have been abuzz about results from the “Oregon Experiment,” a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that finds no statistical link between expanded Medicaid coverage and health outcomes such as high cholesterol or hypertension. Limitations of the study aside, the Oregon Experiment is a good example of the importance of rigorously testing all US health programs, rather than just assuming ‘more care = better health’. The Innovation Center at the United States Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, created under the umbrella of the Affordable Care Act, represents a new and encouraging approach to address this problem, an approach that we think has important lessons for global health. As a quick introduction, the Innovation Center is using structured, institutionalized innovation and experimentation to search for a better way.

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Experimentation for Better Health: Lessons from the US for Global Health

The Daily Impact: Concerns About WHO Budget Cuts Amid H7N9 Outbreak

PSIHealthyLives — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:30:00 +0000

May 7, 2013 Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tells Reuters that he is concerned by the recent budget cuts at the WHO at a time when the H7N9 outbreak continues in China. From Reuters: Frieden said he planned to raise the issue with other countries at the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting, which is being held in Geneva, where the U.N. agency has its headquarters, from May 20 to May 28.

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The Daily Impact: Concerns About WHO Budget Cuts Amid H7N9 Outbreak

Saving money on medical costs: Slowdown in health care spending growth could save Americans $770 billion

GHHub — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:00:35 +0000

A slowdown in the growth of U.S. health care costs could mean that Americans could save as much as $770 billion on Medicare spending over the next decade, Harvard economists say.

via Saving money on medical costs: Slowdown in health care spending growth could save Americans $770 billion.

Austerity Seriously Affecting Health in Europe, North America

GHHub — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:45:24 +0000

Austerity is having a serious effect on health in both Europe and North America – that’s according to a team of researchers at U.S. and European universities. Rates of suicide, depression and infectious diseases are up, and even malaria, eradicated from most Western countries decades ago, has staged a comeback in Greece.

via Austerity Seriously Affecting Health in Europe, North America.

Maximizing US Global Health Investments: Investing in the Frontline

GatesFoundationBlog — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:05:00 +0000

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Maximizing US Global Health Investments: Investing in the Frontline

Is Social Enterprise ‘Social’ Enough?

Center for Health Market Innovations — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:42:00 +0000

This post was first published on NextBillion.This year’s Sankalp Forum, coyly named the “Unconvention Summit” after its link up with Villgro, had a heavy focus on impact investing. Sessions ranged from ways to encourage more angel investment in India, to innovations in financing social enterprises and approaches to align donors’ agendas in fostering the sector.But an important undercurrent to the entire summit was a question that Vineet Rai, managing director of Aavishkaar, posed in one of the opening sessions: Is impact investing living up to the claim of impact?This is an important consideration that extends to the social enterprise sector more broadly (and it’s something past Sankalp events have explored as well—I previously wrote about them here and here).Without measurable and well-defined social impact, social enterprises differ little from regular businesses, which also achieve ancillary social benefits such as employment generation, and the delivery of quality goods and services. But should social enterprises measure their impact at the enterprise level? How much should that impact count -and to whom? And how often should the measurements take place?These are hot topics of debate, but but it’s clear that for policymakers and mission-driven funders to find impacting investing and social enterprise valuable, positive social impact must be attained

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Is Social Enterprise ‘Social’ Enough?