Impact Area: Health Services

Poor health and poverty are inextricably linked in ways that tragically reinforce each other. Impoverished people, particularly women, lack access to basic health care as well as the information and support that would empower them to weave better health decisions into their daily life. Poor health can deepen poverty by diminishing a person’s ability to earn a steady income.

But there is good news: Microfinance institutions and cooperatives--with their ability to reach large numbers of impoverished people within a trusted relationship--are in a unique position to shift this poverty-health dynamic.

GP's investments: Global Partnerships is financially invested in a number of partners selected because they provide essential, high-impact health services to their clients, ranging from preventive health education offered at village bank meetings to low-cost diagnostics. Beyond financial investment, we have or are working with several partners--including Pro Mujer in Nicaragua and Fonkoze in Haiti--to develop innovative, sustainable models for providing low-cost, high-impact health care.

Examples from our portfolio: Innovative health services offered by GP’s partners include education on critical topics such as nutrition, sanitation and chronic disease prevention; community pharmacies staffed by cooperative members that sell basic medicines at half the normal cost; and clinics that offer screenings for potentially life-threatening diseases, such as diabetes and cervical cancer.

What next: GP will expand its health work significantly over the next three years. Beyond continuing to invest financially in partners with strong health programs, we have a goal of partnering with six organizations to bring essential health services to more than 100,000 people living in poverty. (Our partnership with Fonkoze is part of this project.)