Weekly News Roundup
News, Events and Observations about Health Markets in the Developing World
Program News
In the October 1st issue of TIME, former U.S. President Bill Clinton previewed the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting and described five ideas that are changing the world for the better. Number 1 on the list was the expansion of the influence of mobile phones, and anti-counterfeiting project Sproxil was mentioned as a prime example of a mobile innovation. Be sure to check out Sproxil's CHMI profile and to give the full article a read here!
PharmaSecure, the creator of the Unique Identification Mobile Verification Program, an anti-counterfeiting medicine project, recently reached an important milestone. They just imprinted their 300 millionth package of medicine with secure verification codes that consumers can use to validate their drugs via text message, phone call, Android app, or the web. Click here to read more about this remarkable milestone.
General News
The Integration for Impact conference, co-hosted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute, the Kenyan government, and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) was recently held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Integration for Impact conference focuses on the integration of multiple complementary healthcare services such as HIV, reproductive, maternal, and child health care services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Click here to read more about the conference and the integration of health care services in LMIC clinics.
Many of the 6 billion wireless subscriptions in the world are in LMICs and they have changed, and continue to change, how healthcare is provisioned in these countries. Read one of CNN’s latest articles on this topic to learn how the cell phone and mobile health are changing the game in the healthcare world.
Global maternal health advocacy organization Women Deliver, founder and president Jill Sheffield, recently sat down with Devex to discuss the private sector’s role in implementing global health strategies, and how reproductive rights are factoring into donors’ perspectives. Be sure to give the interview a read.
A recent article in Forbes has taken an interesting stance on foreign aid, stating that it is best applied through private channels, for short-term emergencies, and/or for causes that are politically popular, like immunization, rather than being used to prop up the finances of LMICs. Read the full article here to learn more.
Opportunities
Over the past few decades there has been a dramatic spread of health markets in much of Asia and Africa. This has substantially increased the availability of health-related goods and services in all but the most remote localities, but it has created problems with safety, efficiency and cost. It is this issue that the upcoming webinar “Transforming Health Markets in Asia and Africa” hosted by CHMI's parent organization, the Results for Development Institute, seeks to tackle. The event is on October 17 from 12-2pm EST, and is completely free. Click here for more details.
The Rockefeller Foundation's eHealth Seminar Series premiers today!. The series focuses on themes of relevance and key players working on eHealth globally to ensure knowledge sharing among people and institutions, and convergence in the implementation of eHealth National Strategies and plans of action. Learn more and join the series here!