HFI CEO Dr. Andrea Feigl represented HFI at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos from January 16-20. In addition to being a participant throughout the week, HFI played a speaking role on stage in multiple venues. These included a panel event co-organized by HFI and partners, a discussion on scaling Assistive Technology, and a conversation about resilient economies and supply chains.
This issue describes these events, in addition to reflections, learnings, and the current outlook from Dr. Andrea Feigl below.
Closing the Health Equity Gap (Sustainably)
HFI co-organized a panel discussion with Northwell's Center for Global Health and unDavos 23 to discuss the critical question of closing the health equity gap. We’re thankful for the contributions from our expert speakers:
Sylvana Q. Sinha, Esq., Founder, Chair, and CEO, Praava Health
Dr. Max Martin, Executive Vice President & Global Head of Philanthropy, Lombard Odier Foundation
Ceridwen Johnson, Head of Advocacy and Communications, ATscale
Dr. Eric Cioe Peña, Director of Global Health, Northwell Health
The discussion covered a broad array of topics including challenges facing healthcare today, from access to care and affordability to advancements in medical technology and treatments; equity gaps across demographic and socioeconomic lines; and opportunities to ensure high-quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all.
The event reached full capacity and featured a robust interactive session, demonstrating strong interest in this important topic. To watch some of the conversation, check out the video below.
Scaling Access to AT (Assistive Technology) - Break Out Session
ATScale hosted “Transforming People’s Lives by Scaling Access to Assistive Technology (AT),” where Dr. Andrea Feigl was asked to facilitate a workshop discussing the markets for AT beyond High-Income Countries and solutions to disability, inclusion, and access to AT not being prioritized as part of the development agenda.
ATScale is facing a challenge to raise 500 million USD for financing technical assistance and advance market commitments in this important space; however, with ever increasing nationalization of priorities, philanthropic support beyond the Gates Foundation - and innovative financing commitments - is needed.
These challenges, and lessons learned from Davos, will be discussed live and online at the Center for Global Development on February 9th - tune in or register to attend in person at the link below.
Fostering resilient economies: protecting supply chains in times of global crisis
Dr. Andrea Feigl joined James Harris and Aristofanis Kastritseas at The Greek House for a discussion about strategies to foster resilient economies and protect supply chains in times of global crises. The three panelists discussed strategies for diversifying supply sources, implementing strong risk management practices, and investing in new technologies and automations.
A key takeaway from the discussion was that although leapfrogging technologies and digitization of patient care helped overcome significant access issues during the pandemic, financing and diversification of supply chains remain critical in building more resilient health systems.
Andrea’s Davos Dispatch
Like every year, the Davos 2023 World Economic Forum was a highly impactful experience full of creative, driven, and impact-oriented individuals exchanging insights, networking, and shaping the future in their respective fields.
Recognizing the privilege of participating in this convening, I was honored to be an ambassador of the Health Finance Institute at various events hosted by ATscale, the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, The Greek House, unDavos, the SDG Tent, and many others.
While health was somewhat surprisingly missing from the main agenda, health, equity, and pandemic preparedness were featured prominently in discussions in the SDG tent, and at dinners, cocktail hours, and side events. Like many others, I left Davos hopeful, as there appears to be strong and globally resonant recognition that health matters greatly, both to the well-being of our economies and the welfare of the people within them.
What we know at HFI is that those valuable conversations are only the beginning. Global funding for health is lower than ever. So is national funding for health, especially in low and middle-income countries. Leaders and donors aren’t as involved in conversations around health as we need them to be.
That’s why HFI has kicked off the new year with a new strategy that comes with three areas of focus: advocacy, partnerships, and analyzing impact. Davos demonstrated that a more focused strategy around health could have led to better partnerships, stronger advocacy, and a deeper understanding of impact, so we are excited to implement our strategy globally.
I am grateful for the opportunity to attend Davos and for the people who reinforced the importance of health in all of our conversations “on the mountain.” I know my learnings and observations will elevate what HFI already has planned, and I am excited to show you what we have to offer the global community.
We continue to seek candidates for our senior role of Health Economics Lead. Please share with your networks!
This role will lead client-facing health economics projects and will be a key contributor to HFI’s work.
We are also continuing to recruit for a Senior Global Health Finance Associate and Senior Health Economics Advisor. All of these roles can be found on the Careers page of our website.
