Improving Public Health for the Poor Microfinance may offer a
window on new methods for widening access to healthcare for the
poor, says Harvard Business School's Michael Chu. He and
colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health have embarked
on a new project to serve this critical sector. Bringing
together public healthcare and market forces "could have huge
impact," he says. Key concepts include: - Poverty is defined by
three billion people in the world living on less than $2 a day.
- Public health as a private good should be complementary to
public health as a public good, not in opposition to it. -
Project Antares wants to take high-impact initiatives and
deliver them through commercial means. Part of its measure of
success is whether a higher percentage of the population is
helped than would be otherwise. - Poverty cannot be tamed with a
single solution. It needs an arsenal comprising education,
healthcare, housing, access to basic services, and access to
capital. Microfinance—essentially small loans