Does Mobile Technology Hold the Key to Conquering the "Last Mile" in Global Health?

Does Mobile Technology Hold the Key to Conquering the "Last Mile" in Global Health?

The spread of smartphones in places like rural Africa is tantalizing to NGOs and funders who see new ways to solve tough problems. Here's a look at an idea exciting enough to spur pledges of $50 million. 

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Weathering the Storm: How a Global Family Planning Outfit Is Coping With Funding Cuts

Weathering the Storm: How a Global Family Planning Outfit Is Coping With Funding Cuts

Marie Stopes International, a top player in the field of women's health, has been hard hit by Trump's re-imposition of the Global Gag Rule. We get an inside look at how it's trying to adapt and find new funding.

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Toxic Grants: Food Companies Are Still Funding Biased Nutrition Research, Now Overseas

Toxic Grants: Food Companies Are Still Funding Biased Nutrition Research, Now Overseas

Food companies have a history of using funding research that minimizes the health risks of their products. They're still doing it—in developing countries where obesity is rising fast. 

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Bang For Your Buck: The Nonprofit Rating Charities by Impact

Bang For Your Buck: The Nonprofit Rating Charities by Impact

GiveWell, the charity evaluator, believes that most gifts achieve little impact. Its push to redirect donor dollars is making headway—even as the limits of its approach have also become clearer. 

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It’s the World’s Biggest Health Problem. Who’s Paying Attention to Malnutrition?

It’s the World’s Biggest Health Problem. Who’s Paying Attention to Malnutrition?

Around 2 billion people worldwide suffer from some form of malnutrition, which can have devastating long-term effects on children. We look at how top funders are mobilizing around this issue. 

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The Deep-Pocketed Donors Behind the Latest Push Against Neglected Tropical Diseases

The Deep-Pocketed Donors Behind the Latest Push Against Neglected Tropical Diseases

NTDs don't inflict the kind of death toll of better known diseases like malaria, but they have devastating effects on poor countries. Here's another sign that private philanthropy is stepping up the fight against them. 

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Collaboration is Key. Why Three of Europe’s Largest Funders Have Joined Forces

Collaboration is Key. Why Three of Europe’s Largest Funders Have Joined Forces

In Europe, three of the largest charitable organizations on the continent are joining together to focus on "understudied challenges of global relevance." Which means what, exactly? 

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In a World of Suffering, Can Philanthropy Really Make a Difference? Ask This Foundation

In a World of Suffering, Can Philanthropy Really Make a Difference? Ask This Foundation

Don't throw up your hands. In fact, many heroic groups are engaged in high-impact work to save and improve lives in poor countries—often flying beneath the radar. Hilton has made a point of spotlighting them. 

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Plugging the Gap: What Are Funders Doing to Respond to the Global Gag Rule?

Plugging the Gap: What Are Funders Doing to Respond to the Global Gag Rule?

Trump's reimposition of the Global Gag Rule set off a worldwide scramble to find new funds for critical programs that provide reproductive health services for women in poor countries. Who's stepping up? 

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"We Can't Sit Back." A $225 Million Effort to Save 100 Million Lives Over Five Years

"We Can't Sit Back." A $225 Million Effort to Save 100 Million Lives Over Five Years

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death worldwide. But these and similar noncommunicable diseases tend to be overlooked by funders. Here's another sign this may be changing. 

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No Shiny Objects Here: What MacArthur’s Quest for a Big Bet Can (and Can’t) Teach Other Funders

No Shiny Objects Here: What MacArthur’s Quest for a Big Bet Can (and Can’t) Teach Other Funders

It’s been cool to see a top foundation throw open its doors to any and all ideas, as MacArthur has done with its offer of a single $100 million grant. But this drawn out competition has also sent a wrong message.

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This Huge Gift Made History. What's Been the Impact?

This Huge Gift Made History. What's Been the Impact?

Ted Turner's $1 billion pledge to U.N. causes in 1997 ushered in a new era of big philanthropy. Twenty years later, we look at what this gift achieved. 

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Wait, What? Tobacco Giant Backs Foundation to End Smoking

Wait, What? Tobacco Giant Backs Foundation to End Smoking

The maker of Marlboro cigarettes pledged about $1 billion to a new foundation dedicated to ending smoking worldwide. Why is it so hard to take this move seriously? 

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Where's This Pharma Funder Sending Health Grants in Philadelphia and Beyond?

Where's This Pharma Funder Sending Health Grants in Philadelphia and Beyond?

The pharmaceutical company, AmerisourceBergen, started its own grantmaking foundation just two years ago. To get a better sense of it's priorities, we connected with the foundation’s president, Gina Clark. 

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The Gates Foundation Is Still Making Grants to Reinvent the Toilet

The Gates Foundation Is Still Making Grants to Reinvent the Toilet

Diarrheal diseases, often caused by poor sanitation, are the second leading cause of death for children under the age of five in poor countries. Which explains why Gates is sticking with its quest for a better toilet. 

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Gates is Still Gunning for HIV. Here’s the Latest

Gates is Still Gunning for HIV. Here’s the Latest

HIV/AIDS isn't the compelling global cause it once was. But the Gates Foundation has stuck with this challenge for years. Among other things, it's in hot pursuit of cheaper and faster diagnostic tests.  

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Hey, Billionaire Donors: It’s Time to Pick up the Pace of Your Giving

Hey, Billionaire Donors: It’s Time to Pick up the Pace of Your Giving

Let's stop buying the excuse that top philanthropists can’t find smart ways to give away more of their wealth—and start pushing them harder to give more and give now.

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Chasm: What Are Funders Doing To Close Big New Gaps in Aid for Family Planning?

Chasm: What Are Funders Doing To Close Big New Gaps in Aid for Family Planning?

With the Trump administration working to cut U.S. support for global family planning services, advocates and funders are in crisis mode. Gates is giving much more. Who else is joining in?

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To Improve Global Health, Bloomberg Looks to Cities to Lead

To Improve Global Health, Bloomberg Looks to Cities to Lead

As Bloomberg expands his global health funding with a new focus on reducing deaths from non-communicable diseases, his foundation wants to help more cities embrace proven interventions. 

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At Risk: Can Funders Preserve Momentum in the AIDS Fight?

At Risk: Can Funders Preserve Momentum in the AIDS Fight?

In an era of uncertain federal commitments, how can philanthropy refocus its energies on what remains a profound global health crisis? We talk to the leaders of Funders Concerned About AIDS.

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