Development

During the last couple of years we have seen some very significant developments around the world.  First, a housing bubble in the U.S. caused a global financial crisis, then a sovereign debt crisis in Europe threatened the very viability of the EU, and now a string of people revolutions in North Africa and the Middle […]

Over the past few weeks, the spotlight has been on Greg Mortenson, the founder of Central Asia Institute and co-author of Three Cups of Tea, for alleged financial fraud and false claims–with one of the most damning accounts coming from Jon Krakauer.  One of the refrains I’ve heard from colleagues and friends is a frustration […]

Let me start with saying how happy I am to be living in a new democracy.  Today is election day in South Africa, as voters go to the polls for the fourth municipal elections in the history of the Republic of South Africa.  Although I’m an observer in this democratic process, the ability to witness […]

I picked up a piece on the IRIN HIV/AIDS network this week that reported on a “cash for contraception” program that’s currently underway in Kenya.  A US-based organization, Project Prevention, is reportedly offering Kenyan women living with HIV $40 (USD) to get intrauterine devices (IUDs), a long-term contraceptive.  The idea behind the program, whose operations […]

In my last post, I was discouraged by the lack of incentives for innovation in the public health system.  I bemoaned in particular the payment systems that reward bad care in equal measure to good care, a surefire recipe (to my mind) for a stagnant system. Lo and behold, the Obama administration is leading the […]

Apologies for skipping out on my last post; I was on vacation in one (two, actually) of those places where there’s no Internet, no cell phones, and no TV, which is really the only way to get a vacation anymore.  Which means that I didn’t get any news about anything until Tuesday morning.  And now, […]

I just got back from a lecture hosted by the INSEAD Africa Initiative featuring Hal Gregersen, professor of leadership at INSEAD.  Hal’s forthcoming book, the Innovator’s DNA (co-written by Jeffrey Dyer and Clayton Christensen) outlines the five essential qualities or skills that innovators possess: Associating, Observing, Experimenting, Questioning, and Networking. Contrary to the title of […]

On Friday, Julia touched upon one of my favourite subjects: Community Health Workers.  I am a strong advocate of her position for paying CHWs – and for reasons that ironically have to do with lowering costs.  For the last couple weeks, I’ve been focusing on the financing of healthcare and advocating for new mechanisms to […]

We have a global health worker shortage of 4.5 million, and unsurprisingly, the shortage is most acute in low- and middle-income countries.  Sub-Saharan Africa has 11% of the world’s population, 24% of its disease burden and 3% of its health workers (PDF).  If you want a good visual of this, head back to Cynthia’s post […]

As protests and civil unrest continue across North Africa and the Middle East, reports are emerging of Bahraini and Syrian security forces threatening, assaulting, and arresting protesters seeking medical treatment at hospitals.  According to The New York Times, health care workers in Bahrain have been arrested, for protesting but also for treating patients, and security […]

Last week I had a bit of a rant about equitable distribution of care.  Later, in a debate with a colleague, I was urged to consider solutions rather than just reiterate well-known problems.  Ok, point well taken, my friend.  Let’s start with the bottom line – if we’re going to provide quality care, we’re going […]

Since the the unrest and protests in Moldova and Iran in 2009, everyone’s been talking about a “Twitter Revolution.”  Breathless media reports have cited Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms as the great democratizers of the 21st Century.  After the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, the Red Cross raised $24 million in five […]