IMPROVING GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTIONS AND INSTRUMENTS 8.6
Catalysts for change: The evolving role of philanthropy in global health
Interview with Gabriel M Leung, executive director (charities and community), Hong Kong Jockey Club How have philanthropic contributions been critical to ensuring equitable access to health? Philanthropic capital has been pivotal in global health as a key catalytic driver and lever. It cannot replace other forms of capital, mainly from the public purse. It is not a substitute for any inputs other than catalytic capital, or impact or innovation capital. When you spend from the public purse, your risk tolerance threshold is understandably much lower than if you spend foundation money. That’s by design, and that’s good. With private money, you can be as innovative and adventurous as you wish, but it by and large chases after what the market will bear and may return. Therefore, philanthropic capital is a happy medium. It will be more important than ever, not because it will substitute for the other types of capital, but because, with shrinking budgets in many governments, if you have a better catalyst, even though your substrate may be
In an era of fiscal constraints and rising geopolitical tensions, philanthropic capital must play a catalytic role in advancing equitable, innovative and locally grounded global health solutions
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Health: A Political Choice – The Future of Health in a Fractured World
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