Afleveringen
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In our fourth and final episode of the AI for Health Series, we take a peek under the hood of the maternal health chatbot supporting pregnant woman delivering in public health facilities across South Africa. To begin, Debbie Rogers, CEO of Reach Digital Health, shares her personal take on the origin story of MomConnect, South Africa’s maternal health chatbot. Sid Ravinutala of IDInsight then takes us on a tour of how AI will change chatbots, governments, science, music, and health. Along the way, Sid and Debbie share a number of specific tools, tips, and trends relevant for AI practitioners everywhere.
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).
This is the fourth and final episode of our series on AI for Health. Thank you to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.
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Show Notes
In this interview, we cover:
* (2m56s) - An introduction to MomConnect, South Africa’s maternal health chatbot.
* (9m30s) - What is the future of MomConnect? Debbie looks ahead to how AI will allow chatbots to address the specific and personal needs of mothers across South Africa. This hyper-personalization will unlock behaviour change and precision health at scale.
* (13m53s) - IDInsight has supported MomConnect to better understand what mothers need when they interact with MomConnect and guide them to the right information. They are using AI to infer meaning from words i.e. intent classification.
* (17m07s) - Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT will allow the average citizen to better understand and tap into government programs and benefits. Sid cites the example of Indus Action’s work in this space in India.
* (20m12s) - AIs are now pretty good at making music. We share a clip from a song generated by AI.
* (22m07s) - Sid anticipates how AI will usher in a new era of qualitative science.
* (25m00s) - “Every AI Application in the Social Sector Should Have Guardrails". See below for links to specific guardrail tools recommended by Sid.
* (27m40s) - Sid unpacks the role of regulation to manage the risks of AI. He discusses the balance between regulation and acceptable risk.
* (32m18s) - Sid shares a set of technical tools and resources for getting started with AI. Also linked below.
* (32m58s) - A few shoutouts to other organizations doing interesting work in this space.
* (33m49s) - The next 10 years according to Sid and Debbie.
Tools and References
* NeMo Guardrails and Guardrails: Sid recommends that every AI application in the social sector should be using guardrails. Here are two open-source toolkits that programmers can add to their applications to implement such guardrails.
* To get started quickly with AI applications, Sid recommends a suite of tools:
* LangChain is a programming framework to make it easy to build LLM tools.
* Llama Hub is a centralized repository and platform for integrating various tools and plugins specifically designed to enhance the functionality and performance of the LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI) series of models.
* LammaIndex is a toolset designed for indexing, querying, and managing data to improve the efficiency and accuracy of search and retrieval operations in large-scale language models.
* Suno AI is the tool Sid used to generate his song on AI for good. It’s pretty good.
* Reach Digital Health is a South African nonprofit that scales digital health programmes to improve delivery of healthcare services.
* IDInsight helps leaders combat poverty worldwide by designing, deploying and promoting evidence-generating tools, including data science and artificial intelligence.
* Indus Action is an organization working with IDInsight to make government services more accessible and understandable to the average citizen with the use of AI.
* Sid’s first shoutout goes to Jugalbandi, an open platform that integrates Generative AI and Indian language translation models to create conversational AI solutions. It supports over 50 Indian languages and aims to democratize access to information in various sectors such as government services, law, and healthcare through chatbots on platforms like WhatsApp. Jugalbandi is a part of the Bashini mission of the government of India.
* Jacaranda Health: Sid gives a shoutout to Jacaranda Health for building a language model for Swahili in Kenya and releasing it open source. They also provide a maternal messaging service in Kenya called PROMPTS.
* Dimagi: Sid also gives a shoutout to Dimagi for developing an open-source platform called Open Chat Studio to rapidly deploy LLM-based solutions for global health.
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There's a lot of hype about what generative AI and LLMs like ChatGPT will do to improve healthcare in Africa and around the world - but is it going to work?
Today we sit down with the team running the largest study ever done on how LLMs will - and won't - work for healthcare in Africa. Tobi Olatunji, Founder and CEO of Intron Health, speaks with Bilal Mateen, Executive Director of Digital Square at PATH, to discuss the upcoming AfriMed-QA project which will evaluate 20 LLMs over 32 clinical specialties across 15 countries in Africa.
This is Part 3 of 4 of our series on AI for Health. Shoutout to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.
Show Notes
* (4m02s) - Introducing Bilal Mateen and Tobi Olatunji
* (9m20s) - The 4 Ways Generative AI Will Change Healthcare in Africa
* (17m01s) - The AfriMed-QA Project will create a dataset of 20,000 medical questions and answers from 15 countries across Africa and 32 clinical specialties. In the second phase, the Project will benchmark 20 of the leading large language models (LLMs) in the world to evalutae their effectiveness in the context of Africa healthcare.
* (30m02s) - Takeaways from our guest speakers for anyone working in global health and looking to apply AI
* (32m46s) - A call to action for the community of global health donors
Note the content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment, legal, business, tax, or medical advice. Nor should this information be used to evaluate any investment or security.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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How do global actors stay one step ahead of the risks posed by AI for health?
In Part 2 of our 3-part series on AI for Health, we dive deeper to see what’s going on inside the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to safeguard the future.
Today’s lineup includes:
* Dr. Sam Oti of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Canada and Host of the MedxTek Africa Podcast
* Andy Pattison, Team Lead Digital Channels, World Health Organization
Stay tuned for the last episode in our mini-series about AI for Health, where we’ll take a peek under the hood of AI with makers and innovators at IDInsight, PATH, and Intron Health.
Shoutout to our sponsor, Reach Digital Health, for making this series possible.
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Show Notes
Some of the topics we cover in this panel discussion include:
* (3m24s) - What is the World Health Organization (WHO) doing to ensure the ethical application of AI to global health - and minimize the many risks it presents?
* (5m25s) - How the WHO is working with technology partners to tackle misinformation
* (12m02s) - How the WHO uses AI to understand how people are thinking about and responding to health information
* (24m16s) - How did IDRC become of one of the first major funders in the world of AI for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)
* (28m04s) - How does the AI for Global Health program work?
* (34m29s) - What is NOT fundable? What kind of proposals get rejected?
* (37m48s) - What African healthtech startups are leading the charge to disrupt healthcare with AI?
Learn More
* You can learn more about Andy Pattison’s work with the Digital Channels group at the WHO here.
* The WHO publication, Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health, highlights the ethical challenges and risks with the use of artificial intelligence of health and proposes six consensus principles to ensure AI works to the public benefit of all countries.
* Artificial Intelligence for Global Health is a five-year, CAD15.5 million investment from IDRC to fund AI efforts in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen health systems. Through this funding, research and innovation hubs have been established across Africa to support the development of responsible and inclusive AI.
* Based out of Makerere University in Uganda is the Africa Hub for Artificial Intelligence in Maternal, Sexual and Reproductive Health in Africa (HASH).
* In Kenya, Villgro Africa is the commercialization hub for Africa.
* MedxTek Africa is a podcast from Dr. Sam Oti that showcases digital health and healthtech innovations from across Africa.
* In his capacity as host of the MedxTek Podcast, Dr Sam Oti has interviewed dozens of promising healthtech startups across Africa. He highlights a few that are making strides in the application of ethical AI to global health challenges. These include:
* MinoHealth AI Labs in Ghana develops AI-driven diagnostic and treatment recommendations to improve patient outcomes in Africa.
* Intixel from Egypt creates AI-powered software for medical imaging, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of radiological diagnoses through automated analysis and interpretation.
* Hurone AI founded by Dr. Kingsley Ndoh from Nigeria focuses on developing AI-based oncology solutions that offer personalized cancer treatment plans and improve access to quality care for cancer patients in Africa.
* Jacaranda Health in Kenya provides an AI-powered health navigator that engages new and expecting moms through a chatbot on how to work with the public health system.
* Looking ahead at the innovations that might be a game-changer for personal health, Dr. Sam Oti highlights the possibility of wearable AI. As an example he mentions Humane AI, a discreet, ubiquitous sensor and AI-powered second brain that you can pin to your shirt. In his words, “unfortunately it doesn’t work.” Yet.
* Thank you to Alice Liu of Baraka Impact Finance for a tonne of help behind the scenes putting this episode together. Among her many achievements working in AI for global health, Alice was previously co-chair of the AI Working Group for Africa CDC's Digital Transformation Strategy.
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With the mind-bending pace at which artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we work and live, healthcare organizations are asking themselves: what do I need to know today to seize this opportunity? In this episode, experts from the World Health Organization, IDInsight, and Reach Digital Health unpack the promise and perils of AI for health.
Today’s episode is a panel discussion first recorded live at the Marmalade Festival at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford on April 12, 2024. This is the first of a 3-part podcast series on AI for Health powered by Reach Digital Health.
Our lineup includes:
* Andy Pattison, Team Lead Digital Channels, World Health Organization
* Debbie Rogers, CEO of Reach Digital Health
* Sid Ravinutala, Director of Data Science, IDInsight
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).
Stay tuned for future episodes on our mini-series about AI for Health. In our next episode, we'll speak in greater depth with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Canadian funding agency IDRC, and the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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Show Notes
Some of the topics we cover in this panel discussion include:
The Promise
(5m09s) - Our speakers discuss the breakthroughs now possible with AI for health, including the ability to diagnose diseases years earlier than ever before; to instantaneously disseminate essential health information across languages and countries; and the ability to provide hyper-personalized care to an individual based on their needs, body, and preferences.
The Perils
(14m11s) - While it’s tempting to deploy AI systems for health as soon as possible, these also pose very real risks in the high-stakes work of medical care. AI is known to hallucinate: to make up information that has no grounding in reality; AI is deeply biased towards rich people living in the connected world; and AI has the potential to be the most persuasive - and by extension the most manipulative - technology we have ever seen.
So… What Now?
(27m02s) - What do non-profits and social enterprises need to know today to seize the opportunity? Among the many tips and suggestions shared by our speakers, Debbie’s call to action is: get stared now. If you wait two years, you’ll be another two years behind.
Q&A
(35m37s) Towards the end of this episode, our guests field real-world questions posed by the live audience in Oxford, such as how to source diverse data, how to mitigate bias, and the real risk of magnifying the digital divide.
Learn More
* Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health highlights the ethical challenges and risks with the use of artificial intelligence of health and proposes six consensus principles to ensure AI works to the public benefit of all countries.
* Ada, Reach Digital Health, and the National Department of Health in South Africa launched a collaboration to provide AI-powered medical advice to mothers across the country.
* MomConnect is the South African platform to share essential health information with pregnant women across the country. It is provided by the National Department of Health in South Africa in partnership with Reach Digital Health.
* This episode is a panel discussion first recorded live at the Marmalade Festival at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford on April 12, 2024. You can watch a brief highlights video of the event here.
* Elicit is the AI assistant that can comb through the body of scientific papers to provide precise answers to research questions. Sid mentions Elicit as a counterexample to the significant risk of AI misinformation i.e. the ways in which AI can help societies in their search for truth.
* Karya provides high-quality datasets to power AI tools which include a more balanced perspective of remote, low-network areas.
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In 10 years, the medicine supply chain in Africa will look very different than it does today. In Part 2 of this podcast, we examine four key trends which are going to re-shape the medicine supply chain in Africa over the next decade - and shout out to a few of the entrepreneurs that are leading the charge. From regulatory changes spearheaded by the African Union to biomedical innovation requiring new pathways to patient, the medicine market is both growing and changing in Africa.
Our lineup includes:
* Mila Nepomnyashchiy, Lead Advisor, Center for Innovation and Impact, USAID
* Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain, The Global Fund
* Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck
* Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), Managing Partner at Celsian Consulting
* Dr. Prashant Yadav, one of the world’s leading scholars on healthcare supply chains. Dr Yadav is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, Affiliate Professor at INSEAD and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).
In case you missed it, don't forget to check out Part 1 of this episode, where we trace the movement of a pack of medicines from a factory in India to the shelves of a mom-and-pop pharmacy in Zambia.
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Show Notes
Part 2 of The Medicine Supply Chain in Africa covers 3 segments:
1. The Outsized Role of Global Donors
(3m22s) - There’s a world of difference between the private sector medicine markets and the ones supported by billions of dollars of international donor funding. We hear from Mila Nepomnyashchiy of USAID about two different worlds: one for the medicines endorsed by global funding… and one for everything else.
2. Four Trends That Will Dramatically Change The Medicine Supply Chain in the Next 10 Years
(5m45s) - Trend 1: Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), on regulatory changes from the African Union that will massively expand the size of the market.
(9m44s) - Trend 2: Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck, on vertically integrated supply chains that will reduce costs and increase access to consumers.
(13m28s) - Trend 3: Dr. Prashant Yadav of the Center for Global Development on omnichannel distribution that will meet patients where they live and work.
(16m46s) - Trend 4: Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain at The Global Fund, on the golden age of biomedical innovation that will challenge our existing ideas of both ‘medicines’ and ‘supply chain’.
3. Social Entrepreneurs Leading the Charge
(20m31s) - Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights a handful of social enterprises that are leading the charge for change.
Learn More
* USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain Program is a US$9.5 billion program with support from PEPFAR. The follow-in contract may be as much as US$17 billion.
* The Global Fund provides extensive support to countries in procuring low-cost, priority medicines. Every year it spends about US$2 billion to procure medicines for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.
* The Africa Medical Supplies Platform is a pooled procurement mechanism spearheaded by the African Union
* The African Medicines Agency seeks to create a common regulatory environment for medicines across Africa
* The African Continental Free Trade Agreement could create the largest free trade area in the world
* mPharma provides medicines to pharmacies, but does not require payment until those medicines are sold. This helps pharmacies to stock more medicines by de-risking the need for upfront cash.
* Maisha Meds is providing forecasting, sourcing, and other technology support to small retail pharmacies in rural areas.
* Kasha is bringing health products to women and girls at home, giving them the privacy they need while increasing their agency and choice.
* Xetova supports the government in Kenya to use its health supply chain data to create insights on consumption, distribution, procurement spending, supplier and payment performance.
* Pendulum Systems (formerly Macro-Eyes) is providing AI and machine learning tools to African governments to help them optimize their medicine supply chain.
* How Local Innovation Can Drive the Global Development Agenda - This 2023 piece from Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the importance of new social entrepreneurs in addressing gaps in the private and public medicine supply chain.
* Innovations in Digitizing Health Supply Chains in Africa - This 2023 market intelligence report from Salient Advisory highlights some of the key areas of the medicine supply chain where startups in Africa are most active.
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What does it take to move a pack of medicines from a factory in India to the shelves of a mom-and-pop pharmacy in Zambia? In this episode, we explore the world of the medicine supply chain in Africa, as told by the people who run it. Along the way, we unpack the market dynamics which limit access to low-cost, essential medicines.
Our lineup includes:
* Yusuf Rasool, Director of Global Market Access at MSD/Merck
* Clinton De Souza, former Director of Public Health for Imperial Logistics (now DP World), Managing Partner at Celsian Consulting
* Michael Moreland, CEO and Founder, Field Intelligence
* Sidharth Rupani, Senior Advisor for Supply Chain, The Global Fund
* Mila Nepomnyashchiy, Lead Advisor, Center for Innovation and Impact, USAID
* Dr. Prashant Yadav, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, Affiliate Professor at INSEAD and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, etc.).
Stay tuned for Part 2, when we look at the future trends which are going to dramatically change this supply chain and highlight a few of the new ventures which are leading the way.
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In this episode, we cover
* (2m54) - Setting the stage: we introduce several of the key actors in the medicine supply chain, including manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the key role of Ministries of Health as well as the disruptive influence of social entrepreneurs.
* (8m27s) - Yusuf Rasool of MSD/Merck describes the role of large pharmaceutical companies and why it is difficult for a large multinational to operate directly in 54 different African countries.
* (10m57s) - Clinton De Souza digs into two of the structural problems in the medicines market which makes it difficult for distributors to deliver low-cost essential medicines.
* (19m07s) - From the perspective of Five Star Pharmacy in Zambia, we look at the working capital gap which prevents small pharmacies from making the full range of medicines available to people.
* (21m49s) - Michael Moreland of Field Intelligence describes the role of social entrepreneurs and embedded financing in allowing small pharmacies to increase product availability.
* (29m17s) - Recap of the episode so far and teaser for Part 2
Learn More
* Health Product Supply Chains in Developing Countries - This 2015 paper from Dr. Prashant Yadav summarizes the key actors and common challenges of medicine supply chains in Sub-Saharan Africa.
* How Local Innovation Can Drive the Global Development Agenda - This 2023 piece from Dr. Prashant Yadav highlights the importance of new social entrepreneurs in addressing gaps in the private and public medicine supply chain.
* Innovations in Digitizing Health Supply Chains in Africa - This 2023 market intelligence report from Salient Advisory highlights some of the key areas of the medicine supply chain where startups in Africa are most active.
* How MSD/Merck is improving access to healthcare - This page highlights a few of the affordability solutions that MSD/Merck’s Access to Medicines team is working on around the world.
* Imperial Logistics is one of the largest medicine distributors on the African continent.
* Five Star Pharmcies is a chain of retail pharmacies in Zambia founded by Lloyd Matowe with the support of Clinton De Souza.
* Field Intelligence is a social enterprise providing planning, fulfilment, and financing of pharmaceuticals to over 35,000 points of care in Nigeria and Kenya, including government clinics, retail pharmacies and drug shops, hospitals and telehealth providers.
* Was the $9.5B health supply chain 'a waste of USAID's money'? - Earlier this month, Devex published a(nother) searing indictment of USAID’s global health supply chain program. The controversy surrounding this highly centralized, donor-funded program is one of the reasons why now is a good time to take a look at what’s working (and what’s not) in private sector medicine supply chains. In Part 2 of this episode, we’ll touch on a few of the differences and linkages between what we describe in Part 1 and certain donor-driven supply chains.
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Unlocking access to quality healthcare in Africa by 2030 will require radical innovations. Join veteran digital health / healthtech entrepreneur Rowena Luk in conversation with healthcare industry leaders and innovators every quarter to strategize on what the future of healthcare in Africa will look like. This podcast is for social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and global health professionals who need to stay ahead of the rapidly changing landscape of healthcare in Africa.
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Chuck Slaughter is the founder of Living Goods, which supports over 10,000 digitally-empowered community health workers who are reducing child deaths by over 25% at an annual cost of under $4 per person. As a Senior Advisor to TPG Rise (a $10 billion impact investing platform), Director of the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and a successful entrepreneur, Chuck has a rich perspective on how digital is reshaping aid and development work. Tune in today to hear Chuck’s guidance on whether to ‘build or buy’ tech, why nonprofits struggle to deliver the best technology products, and how governments and the private sector need to work together to scale high-impact innovations.
Chuck serves on the boards of Yale’s School of Management, Tidepool, Reach Health, and the Horace W Goldsmith Foundation. He received a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, a Draper Richards Kaplan Fellowship, and is a World Economic Forum Social Entrepreneur of the Year.
A Few Highlights
(6m27s) - How Chuck and Living Goods became digital first
(13m45s) - The DESC metaphor of Living Goods: Digital, Equipped, Supervised and Compensated
(22m01s) - Working with new technologies: the 'build or buy' debate
(28m24s) - Why nonprofits struggle to build great tech
(32m09s) - The digital transformation of aid: grantmaking through the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
(37m08s) - Financing scale: how governments and the private sector need to work together
(40m19s) - Rapid fire questions, shoutouts, and recommendationsYou can learn more about Living Goods on their website at livinggoods.org.
Let us know what you thought of this episode on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved). You can also access show notes at AidEvolved.com.
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Dr. Agnes Binagwaho is a pediatrician, former Minister of Health of Rwanda, Senior Lecturer at Harvard University, Advisor to the Director-General of the WHO, and co-founder of the University of Global Health Equity.
She joins us today to talk about the role of technology in the remarkable transformation of Rwanda’s health system post-genocide.
What are the failed promises of health technology? How has data been a North Star to her work? And what does it take to show the world that Rwanda today stands for truth?
Highlights
(02m59s) - When health data is held hostage
(04m21s) - HIV is a curse that ushered in the era of electronic medical records
(10m06s) - How epidemiological data supports effective health systems governance
(16m10s) - Using Twitter to take a stand
(20m54s) - Whose data do you trust?Submit a question or comment to our mailbag, and we’ll discuss it on a future show. Emails or voice recordings can be sent to [email protected]
Connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved) and access show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
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Dr. Biju Mohandas has led investments at not just one but three different household names in impact investing: LeapFrog Investments, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Acumen. Tune in today to hear about his take on the upcoming global healthcare crisis, the competitive edge of entrepreneurs in Africa and India, and the catalytic role of impact investors. Hear the investment priorities of a man who's been leading impact investments in healthcare in Africa as long as the term "impact investing" has existed.
Dr. Biju Mohandas is a Partner at LeapFrog and the firm’s Global Co-Leader for Health Investments. Prior to LeapFrog, Dr Mohandas led the IFC’s Healthcare and Education investment team in Sub-Saharan Africa and was the Global Sector Lead for Medical Devices after also serving as head of Acumen in East Africa and as part of their founding team in India.
We’ll cover:
(2m35s) – The coming global healthcare crisis
(8m45s) – How Africa and India are poised to leapfrog ahead
(12m11s) – Investing in asset-light healthcare
(15m09s) – Goodlife Pharmacy’s re-emergence after the Westgate Attack in Nairobi
(18m08s) – How Redcliffe Diagnostics is bringing the lab closer to people in India
(21m38s) – Pervasive technology, IoT, and wellness
(23m04s) – HealthifyMe, the largest digital wellness app in India
(26m13s) – How investors exit from ventures in emerging markets
(30m10s) – Rapid fire questionsSubmit a question to our mailbag and we’ll discuss it on a future show. Emails or voice recordings can be sent to [email protected]
Connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved) and access Biju’s latest synthesis on the state of healthcare in Africa at https://AidEvolved.com.
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John Fairhurst is the head of Private Sector Engagement at the Global Fund. As such, he is the link between this global institution and innovators ranging from Microsoft to Zenysis. Tune in today to understand how the largest financier of HIV, TB, and malaria programs works with Big Tech, emerging startups, and other innovators to achieve its global goals.
In its 20 years of existence, the Global Fund has channeled $55 billion to support the fight against HIV, TB, and malaria.
Prior to joining the Global Fund John was an Executive Director at UBS Optimus Foundation and COO at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). He helped establish the portfolio of one of the largest private foundations in international development, the Children's Investment Fund (CIFF). He oversaw development and humanitarian programs for Oxfam in various geographies including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and Afghanistan.
A few highlights:
(2m13s) - Introducing John Fairhurst
(6m06s) - How the Global Fund works with Big Tech
(16m19s) - How the Global Fund works with emerging technologies and startups
(21m38s) - The partnerships that don't work out
(26m56s) - Guidance for other donors in "the valley of death"
(31m41s) - Rapid fire questionsSubmit a question or comment to our mailbag, and we’ll discuss it on a future show. Emails or voice recordings can be sent to [email protected]
Connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved) and access show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
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When you dig into the problem of providing quality healthcare in Africa, sooner or later you hit the foundational question, “who is going to pay for these services?” In tackling this challenge, PharmAccess Foundation has provided health financing to almost 5M people in Kenya alone. A key part of this success is developing a digitally-enabled, financially sustainable approach that generates revenue from middle-income clients to sustainably serve low-income communities. We chat today with Nicole Spieker, CEO of PharmAccess Foundation, about the public-private partnerships necessary to make healthcare affordable to everyone.
Conversation highlights:
(2m19s) - Introducing PharmAccess Foundation
(3m01s) - How PharmAccess is innovating in healthcare financing
(6m43s) - What makes M-TIBA different from other health insurance programs?
(9m55s) - The digital leapfrog opportunity in health insurance in Africa
(12m20s) - How public funds catalyze private investment
(14m45s) - Harnessing the value of data for the people who own itSubmit a question or comment to our mailbag, and we’ll discuss it on a future show. Emails or voice recordings can be sent to [email protected]
Connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved) and access show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
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GHIF was a "first-of-its-kind investment product", the fund was created in 2012 through the surprising alliance of the Gates Foundation and JP Morgan Chase. Its supporters include a stellar cast of characters such as Grand Challenges Canada, AXA Investment Managers, the development finance institution of both Germany and the World Bank, GSK, Merck, and Pfizer. Its mission is two-fold: generating attractive financial returns to its investors, and improving lives for millions in low- and middle-income populations. This is accomplished by providing late-stage financing for innovative drugs, vaccines and diagnostics, and working with companies to introduce the products globally. The new AXA IM Global Health Fund is expanding the model with a larger fund and wider mandate that includes both communicable and non-communicable conditions.
In this episode, we'll touch on:
The kinds of global health innovations Curt financed through GHIF
Curt's guidance for innovators seeking growth capital
Lessons learned for emerging fund managers
Curt's call to action for the global health community to ensure life-saving products are effectively delivered to communities as far as the last mileThis conversation was recorded live at the IFC Global Private Health Conference 2023 in Cape Town, February 2023. IFC is a development finance institution and the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
Access show notes at https://AidEvolved.com and connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@AidEvolved).
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Margot Cooijmans is an impact investor, philanthropist, entrepreneur, corporate lawyer, and expert on essential Corporate Social Responsibility. For most of their existence, she has led Philips Foundation and Philips Foundation Impact Investments B.V. Tune in today to learn about Margot's career directing the contributions of global corporations to better serve the public good.
Note: this interview is about the personal experiences and perspectives of Margot Cooijmans. Nothing said in this interview should be construed as the position of Philips or any of its subsidiaries, affiliates, or partners.
(4m32s) – Margot establishes Good Company and dives into the world of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
(11m28s) - Margot joins forces with the global technology company, Philips, to define the strategy during the startup years of Philips Foundation
(21m38s) - Margot spearheads the creation of Philips Foundation Impact Investments Ltd, drawing expertise from Philips Ventures, the corporate investment arm, but with the goal of improving access to healthcare beyond where Philip can typically reach
(30m30s) - Rapid fire questions with Margot CooijmansTo find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
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As the Senior Vice President of Impact at the Global Innovation Fund, Joseph Ssentongo works at the challenging nexus of innovation, evidence and impact. He sits down with Aid, Evolved today to share his efforts to generate evidence even from early-stage innovations; how to measure impact even when that impact might not mature until 10 years in the future; and how Big Aid can evolve to be more innovative by adopting the right model of risk.
The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is a non-profit, impact-first investment fund which has invested over 100M USD in innovations with the potential to improve the lives of those living on less than 5 dollars a day. It is backed by grant capital from UK, Canadian, Swedish, US and Australian governments as well as corporate and philanthropic donors. This interview reflects the personal experiences and views of Joseph Ssentongo and does not represent the position of GIF or any of its partners.
Conversation Highlights
(4m35s) - Joseph recalls his work with the Investment Climate Facility for Africa working with government to improve private sector investment across 14 countries
(13m08s) - What is the Global Innovation Fund (GIF)?
(18m19s) - How does GIF remain accountable not just to its major donors but also to the people and communities it claims to serve?
(20m33s) - Joseph unpacks the tricky balance between delivering world-class evidence and also investing in novel innovations which may not yet have a strong track record of evidence
(23m04s) - Joseph shares his personal experience and the unique contribution of GIF to the waste pickers of Mr. Green Africa, a new kind of recycling company in Kenya
(26m49s) - How GIF strives to be a catalyst that can lead the way for other donors to invest in risky innovations
(30m20s) - What's next for GIF? Joseph describes the launch of GIF's Innovating for Climate Resilience Fund as well as the Innovating for Gender Equality sub-fund
(31m22s) - Joseph tackles our Rapid Fire questions, from people who inspired him to his favourite podcastsTo find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
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A note from our sponsor: this episode is brought to you by idealist.org. Are you looking to hire dedicated and talented professionals? Idealist is the #1 job board for the social impact sector. Sign up to start posting jobs today! Go to idealist.org/aid to get a credit for one free 30-day job listing.
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Pippa Yeats first built Turn.io to send reminders to mothers in South Africa about how to stay healthy. She never dreamt that she would be one of the first responders creating a lifeline to information in a country at war - after government websites and other channels were taken down by cyberattacks. In today's interview we retrace the event surrounding February 24th 2022, when Russia first invaded Ukraine. This triggered a group of Turn.io software developers to band together with the State Emergency Services of Ukraine and Meta (formerly Facebook) to launch the Ukrainian crisis response hotline - in just three days.
A note from our sponsor: this episode is brought to you by idealist.org. Are you looking to hire dedicated and talented professionals? Idealist is the #1 job board for the social impact sector. Sign up to start posting jobs today! Go to idealist.org/aid to get a credit for one free 30-day job listing.
To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
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In 2022, Segal Family Foundation was the second largest US grant-maker in Sub-Saharan Africa by number of grants given (below Gates and above Ford Foundation). We speak with long-time Executive Director, Andy Bryant, about the radical changes he introduced to address the challenges of traditional philanthropy, and how he made it work in practice. One common theme emerges across Andy's work: a deep commitment to localization and to empowering African visionaries to drive African solutions.
Conversation Highlights
13m56s Hiring and talent
15m06s Finding great opportunities
19m30s Monitoring and evaluation
22m35s Getting and acting on feedback
27m29s Unrestricted funding
31m07s Challenges
45m22s Rapid fire questionsTo find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email ([email protected])
A note from our sponsor: this episode is brought to you by idealist.org. Are you looking to hire dedicated and talented professionals? Idealist is the #1 job board for the social impact sector. Sign up to start posting jobs today! Go to idealist.org/aid to get a credit for one free 30-day job listing.
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On March 8, 2020, Dr. Tedros asked Andy Pattison to set up the World Health Organization (WHO)’s global COVID-19 hotline, a process that would normally take months if not years. 12 days later, Andy and his team launched the largest WhatsApp service in the world. Tune in today to hear from Andy himself how it all went down.
To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email ([email protected])
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Hannah's done it all, from managing a billion-dollar fund to sowing the seeds for new ventures in Africa. She has invested directly in the companies who built the cell phone towers that are expanding connectivity in Africa and she's bootstrapping the entrepreneurs that will change how healthcare is delivered in the years to come. This conversation will help you understand the role that private financing can play in Africa's future. It's also a snapshot of the Congo, as told by one of its stars, a complex country which is both one of the poorest and the richest in the world.
Hannah Subayi Kamuanga is Country Director for the Democratic Republic of the Congo of PROPARCO, France's development finance institution. She is a member of the investment committee for Launch Africa Ventures, the most active seed investor in tech in Africa today. On top of all of that, she's an active angel investor and co-founder of Dazzle Angels, the first Angel club to invest exclusively in women-led tech startups in South Africa.
To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email ([email protected])
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Join us in conversation with Rebecca Distler, Strategist for AI, Data, and Digital Health at the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. She shares the trials and tribulations of a decade spent funding and fund-raising for innovations in global health - and how she's working to change the game, from supporting the Gates Grand Challenges initiatives through her work at the Foundation to advance digital health equity. In this far-ranging conversation, we touch on ethical AI, private venture capital vs. public funds, and even the New York City Ballet.
Rebecca's prior work includes advising on digital ID for COVID-19 vaccination and testing, leading a $3M+ portfolio of AI and digital ID for health projects, and supporting the launch of government partnerships to fund and advance early stage technology and R&D in global health. Rebecca holds a Masters in Health Policy and Global Health from the Yale School of Public Health and a BA in Political Science from Yale University. She is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and was selected as a Forbes Ignite Impact Fellow, AI XPRIZE Semi-Finalist, and Gavi INFUSE Pacesetter.
The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation is a 21st century philanthropy committed to bridging the frontiers of artificial intelligence, data science, and social impact.
Note: This interview is about the personal experiences and perspectives of Rebecca Distler. Nothing said in this interview should be construed as the position of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, or any of their affiliates.
To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com
Is there a donor or investor you’d like to hear on this show? Let us know on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email ([email protected])
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