Think creatively to financially support global health and development goals

Sep 29 2011

In this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, and Gro Brundtland, a board member of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health, the former prime minister of Norway, and the director-general emeritus of the WHO, discuss the notion of "innovative financing for development" and how, "[f]aced with impending fiscal constraints, the international community has devised several promising financing models to protect investments in global health."

They highlight "the Pledge Guarantee for Health (PGH), ... a financial tool that borrows several ideas on trade finance developed by Wall Street, but applies it to the procurement of health commodities like anti-malaria bed nets, contraceptives and medicines," and "the International Finance Facility for Immunizations (IFFIm), which sells bonds on capital markets that are backed by the long-term commitment of a few donor countries." They conclude, "Let us be clear, the international development community must still find new funding sources if we are to sustain progress in global health. However, through innovative approaches like PGH, the ability to stretch donor dollars is increased" (9/27).