Since we began our work in 2019, the Health Finance Institute has prioritized investing in health today so that we can create wealth for tomorrow, exploring the shared value space between health and financial investments. Our expertise in global health, economics, and blended finance allows us to take the lead in closing the non-communicable disease (NCD) finance gap and reducing non-communicable morbidity and mortality worldwide.
Recently, and with the 2023 UN HL meeting on Universal Health Coverage, HFI expanded its mandate towards health financing progress for UHC. For example, in partnership with IPE Global and via USAID funding, HFI conducted a blended finance for COVID vaccines feasibility study. More recently, we advised a large global healthcare company on innovative finance strategies for global vaccine access.
At HFI, we understand the importance of making smart investments in health. Smart investments allow governments and NGOs to respond to the current and future needs of communities and healthcare systems using data-driven and contextually relevant approaches to financing. Making smart investments means organizations can also build on already existing partnerships between the public and private sectors and clearly illustrate who pays and who benefits. These types of investments lead to reductions in inequalities, comorbidities, and caregiver burden, and see an increase in gender equality, access to health innovations, and economic growth.
When we started HFI in early 2019, after incubating its formation with colleagues at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health - the five year goal of HFI was to both structure and set up several blended finance vehicles for NCDs, with the ultimate goal of setting up a structured blended finance fund dedicated to NCDs. HFI launched this vision at a well-attended event at the World Health Assembly in 2019 - with panel speakers including leadership from the World Economic Forum, the Novartis Foundation, the African Union, the World Health Organizations, Kenya, Egypt, and others.
After co-developing the first business plan of the NCD MPTF - now the Health 4 Life Fund - HFI received a generous 3.17 million USD startup grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, allowing us to open our office doors in downtown DC in mid-February 2020. For precisely ten days - which is when COVID19 was ravaging the country and the world.
COVID19 severely interfered with HFI’s core premise to build on the success of Global Health Financing for infectious diseases, further adding and supporting needed monitoring and evaluation infrastructure for NCDs and related blended finance. ‘Building an onramp for NCDs to be integrated into health systems financing work, adding to existing infectious disease and maternal and child health work’ was no longer feasible during the height of the pandemic.
As such, the pandemic didn’t just lead to closing our physical office doors, it also halted - on multiple occasions - any emerging momentum for non-infectious disease financing for health, and thereby, HFI’s project pipeline.
In 2020 and 2021, we were thus largely focused on developing our country strategy, while simultaneously trying to build demand for chronic disease related blended finance vehicles.
In our forthcoming analysis of over a decade of investments in blended finance under the SDG agenda, our findings show what we felt on a daily basis: health is commensurately underrepresented in blended finance deals (only 6% of blended finance deals focus on health), with less than one percent of these deals focusing on chronic diseases specifically. This is due to a lack of political will and financing for the technical foundation for blended finance deals to succeed – investments that are common practice in infectious disease (case in point: COVAX) and other sectors – are non-existent in the chronic disease area.
Given these findings - the initial realization of our five year goal of a blended finance fund seemed unattainable. 2022 was a year spent listening, arguing for global health solidarity, and re-strategization. Blended finance for NCDs, and at a larger scale for health, necessitates not just the advocacy and technical know how that HFI can provide, but will need to be coupled with better data infrastructure, real political support, and financial commitments towards feasibility studies and first loss capital (as a bare minimum). These commitments are a real possibility - but will likely need several years to become reality.
The reevaluation of our goals led us to a three-pronged approach that we believe will better allow us to engage with others and support an increase in funding for NCD work. Thus, HFI’s strategy starting out in 2023 is focused on three core objectives: to Analyze impact, to Partner, and to Lead.
Analyze: We will develop economic cases for prevention, access, and adherence for NCD patients in the greatest need using strategic partnerships and scientific review. Our primary goal is to develop and support 5 in-country economic cases by 2025.
Partner: We will prioritize partnerships that set standards for the use of evidence and metrics as a part of health financing and innovative financing models. Our primary goal is to form 4 new partnerships and grow 5 existing partnerships by 2025.
Lead: We will educate and provide a neutral convening platform for dialogs toward action on public-private stewardship of health financing. Our primary goal is to contribute to six high-level health financing dialogs and six regional global health financing dialogs.
Along all three areas, HFI already is hitting several high notes: on the advocacy front, we recently launched a working paper in collaboration with colleagues at Washington University, and an additional publication forthcoming in early March.
On the partnership front, we are excited to begin two novel partnerships with a large healthcare company; we look forward to sharing more, along with additional partnership announcements, in the coming months.
On the leadership front, HFI continues to be the global go-to partner for blended finance and impact advice in health, including recent events in Davos.
Furthermore – our key partnerships are leading towards the incubation of our ‘next big idea’ on health impact credits - which I discuss in this podcast. Several exciting developments on this front will be published soon, also.
From the Desk of Dr. Andrea Feigl
Sharing our new strategy with you is a proud moment for me. We have made great progress at HFI over the last several years, and I am excited for what the future will bring for us and for healthcare worldwide.
While I am proud of our progress, I know there is plenty of work still to be done. There has been less globally focused funding for diseases over the last several years, and national budgets in many low-and-middle-income countries are decreasing. We are seeing a decline in donors who want to engage in novel and innovative finance partnerships because their donations aren’t met with support from national governments. It can be difficult to think positively about the future of fighting non-communicable diseases, but we must stay optimistic.
The changes we’re making at HFI make me hopeful. Soon we’ll be announcing the first of our major partnerships and how those relationships will support our three goals. Recently, we announced that HFI received Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. This new status increases our ability to advocate for global healthcare funding and support that cannot be found elsewhere.
As always, I appreciate your support of HFI and our work. Thank you for helping us ensure that NCDs are not ignored in important global healthcare conversations.
We are now hiring a Senior Health Economist to support our work as we help empower global communities. Join us to reshape the outlook on NCDs worldwide! Learn more about the role here.
We also continue to seek candidates for the role of Research Assistant Intern. Please share with your networks!
Recently, and with the 2023 UN HL meeting on Universal Health Coverage, HFI expanded its mandate towards health financing progress for UHC. For example, in partnership with IPE Global and via USAID funding, HFI conducted a 
When we started HFI in early 2019, after incubating its formation with colleagues at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health - the five year goal of HFI was to both structure and set up several blended finance vehicles for NCDs, with the ultimate goal of setting up a structured blended finance fund dedicated to NCDs. HFI launched this vision at a well-attended 
In our forthcoming analysis of over a decade of investments in blended finance under the SDG agenda, our findings show what we felt on a daily basis: health is commensurately underrepresented in blended finance deals (only 6% of blended finance deals focus on health), with less than one percent of these deals focusing on chronic diseases specifically. This is due to a lack of political will and financing for the technical foundation for blended finance deals to succeed – investments that are common practice in infectious disease (case in point: COVAX) and other sectors – are non-existent in the chronic disease area.
