At UNGA 78, HFI was selected as the recipient of a United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) award for 2023. The award recognized outstanding achievements with a focus on multisectoral action for the prevention and control of NCDs, mental health conditions, and the broader NCD-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Since HFI’s founding in 2019, we have advocated for greater investments in NCD prevention, treatment, and education in more than 10 countries. NCDs are issues that need a whole of society approach, and organizations tackling this issue rely on many helping hands. Thank you to our entire network including our staff (more than 80 past employees, consultants, and interns), our amazing group of international advisors (including our executive board, senior advisors, and technical advisors), and our many partners and supporters who believed in HFI early on. Your support and collaboration continues to help us create impact.
Today, we are supporting children with T1D in Mexico with life-saving devices, and have collaborated with the Danish Red Cross, Family Health International, the WHO, UN ECOSOC, and UNOPS, among others, to change lives. We are thrilled to have been recognized by the UNIATF for non-communicable diseases.
I want to thank everyone who joined HFI and Sanofi at our UNGA sideline event, “Unlocking Universal Health Coverage 2030: The Power of Health Financing.”
We enjoyed a rigorous and informative discussion on sustainable health financing and how a multi-stakeholder approach reflects the reality of the health financing landscape.
A policy note and framework prepared by HFI on sustainable health financing can be found in the resources section of this newsletter.
UNGA 78 represented an unprecedented opportunity for HFI to present novel solutions for sustainable financing in the treatment and prevention of NCDs.
HFI Spearheads New Approaches to Measuring Impact of NCD Care in Cambodia In Partnership with Sanofi and Reach52
In a recent partnership with the Sanofi Global Health Unit (GHU) and Reach52, HFI helped model the impact of an innovative program delivering NCD care in rural Cambodia. The SAKAM Program offers a subscription service that provides education, screening, and medicine to rural Cambodians experiencing diabetes and hypertension.
Despite 85% of all NCD deaths occurring in lower-middle-income regions, NCD care for these populations receives chronically low levels of global investment. To combat this shortage, the SAKAM program seeks to build an innovative, scalable model for NCD care by combining Reach52’s local health services network in Cambodia with Sanofi’s resources and expertise.
At its launch, the SAKAM Program enrolled 900 Cambodians that were diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, or both. Over the course of treatment, 40% of these participants saw improvements to their health outcomes and gained control over their medical condition.
To better understand the implications of this project, HFI developed an impact framework to assess the cost-effectiveness and long-term economic returns of the SAKAM program. Using literature values as well as the data from Reach52, HFI’s modeling found that the initial run of the SAKAM Program yielded a 400% return on investment by averting lost productivity as well as reducing burdens on public healthcare. HFI estimates that through providing screening and care to rural Cambodians, the SAKAM Program averted close to 28,000 days of work lost to illness, leading to a $182K USD gain in GDP and a $258.6K reduction in public healthcare cost.
These metrics highlight the hidden costs of NCD disease burdens, strengthening the investment case for NCD care in LMIC settings and attesting to the potential of innovative care models such as the SAKAM Program.
Careers at HFI
We recently began a new search for a part-time HR and Operations Manager. This role will report to the CEO and will help run day-to-day operations of the organization.
We’re also continuing to seek candidates for our Research Assistant Intern role. Please share with your networks!
