An overview of the role of social enterprise within the global health sector. Includes a profile of emerging leaders of global health social enterprise, Noora Health.

1. Using Social Enterprise to Solve
Global Health Challenges
Malikah Waajid, MPH
2015 IDEX Fellow

2. Understanding Global Health
• Global Health is a vast and diverse field
– Interdisciplinary and covers a wide range of issues
including infectious and chronic diseases, water
quality, emergency relief, vaccinations,
antimicrobial resistance, health coverage, tobacco
use, research methodology, climate change,
equity, access to medicine, and others
Koplan JP, Bond TC, Merson MH, Reddy KS, Rodriguez MH, Sewankambo NK, et
al. Towards a common definition of global health. Lancet. 2009;373:1993–5

3. Understanding Global Health, cont’d
There is no single definitions for global health.
However, a widely used definition is:
‘An area for study, research, and practice that
places a priority on improving health and
achieving health equity for all people
worldwide’1.
Koplan JP, Bond TC, Merson MH, Reddy KS, Rodriguez MH, Sewankambo NK, et
al. Towards a common definition of global health. Lancet. 2009;373:1993–5

4. The Traditional Approach
Global health issues are
traditionally addressed
by:
• Bilateral Agencies
• Multilateral Agencies

5. Bilateral Agencies
Government agencies, aid
groups or nonprofit
organizations based in a
single country while the
agency provides aid, including
medical aid or disaster relief,
for people in other countries.
Example of bilateral agencies:
• USAID
• USPHS
• CDC
• Red Cross
• CARE

6. Multilateral Agencies
Organizations that obtain funding from multiple
governments and spend it on projects in
various countries.
Example of multilateral agencies:
• WHO
• World Bank
• UNICEF

7. Challenges to the Traditional Approach
• Interventions are often funded by “soft”
monies, such as grants and other forms of aid
that are finite and reliant on funding renewal
• Sustainability is limited based on available
funding
• Diminishes intervention ability to see long-
term change due to the ever-changing funding
climate.

8. Exploring a New Approach
Global Health Social Enterprises (GHSE) presens an
alternative to traditional funding avenues to solve
global health challenges.
GHSEs are revenue-generating businesses with a
twist!
Whether operated by a non-profit organization ofby
a for-profit company, a social enterprise has two
goals: to achieve social, cultural, community
economic and/or environmental outcomes; and,
to earn revenue.

9. Understanding GHSEs
Many global health social
enterprises look, feel, and
even operate like traditional
businesses. But closer
examination reveals that a
global health mission is at the
center of business, with
income generation plays an
important supporting role!

10. The GHSEs vs the Traditional Approach
Global Health Social Enterprises:
• Can leverage private financing not
readily available to nonprofits.
• Have the flexibly to set their own
agendas.
• Are nimble and respond to new
opportuni- ties more quickly than
nonprofits.
• Can pursue dual markets for their
products.

11. Trends in Global Health Social
Enterprises (GHSE)

12. Leading Global Health Social
Enterprises (GHSEs)

13. Noora Health is a nonprofit technology
startup, born out of Stanford
d.school & YCombinator, that is
transforming healthcare with human
centered design.
Noora trains marginalized patients and their families with high-
impact health skills to improve outcomes and save lives.
By training families we build capacity at the household level,
and place tools in the hands of those who need it most.
Noora Health is all about the democratization of
health.
Profiling a Social Enterprise: Noora
Health

14. Noora: Why a GHSE?
• High need for innovation to solve pressing
health challenges.
• Broad needs presented multiple opportunities
to intervene and improve the healthcare
system
• Recognized patient family caregivers as an
underutilized resource within the healthcare
system to improve patient care

15. Noora: The Social Enterprise Mission
As a GHSE Noora’s model utilizes the paid
procurement of the Caregiver Companion
Program by private hospitals to subsidize the
cost of its free implementation within
charitable and government hospital that are
primarily utilized by low-income patients.

16. Noora’s Top 5 Lessons for a Successful
GHSE
To succeed as a global health social enterprise to
have a:
• Willingness to share credit
• Willingness to break free of established
structure
• Willingness to cross disciplinary boundaries
• Willingness to work quietly
• Strong ethical impetus

17. Challenges for GHSEs
Global Health Social Enterprises are limited because they:
• Depend on their own revenue to maintain operations,
they cannot pursue products with little or no paying
market.
• Face difficulty in maintaining social mission over time
• Example: leadership transition or corporate buyout
• Lack standard metrics and tools for balancing financial
returns and social impact.
– Limits the ability of impact investors to invest across firms
and sectors because of the difficulty in comparing how
socially driven one company is or how significant future
impact can be.

18. Best Practices for GHSEs
 Establish clear, shared project goals to ensure every member of the project team knows
what success looks like.
 Build credibility by picking a change project that aligns with organizational expertise and
business strategy.
 Establish governance and reporting relationships that include the project partners and,
ideally, some members of your target group.
 Create a plan to develop the project team’s skill base.
 Involve relevant stakeholders into the change project
 Customize the project based on local knowledge and culture.
 Build on existing strengths.
 leverage relationships with formal project partners or relevant networks to spread the
change.
 Focus initially on quick wins to build enthusiasm and motivate staff.
 Develop innovations that support the change project, such as online games or mobile phone
apps.
 Conduct evaluations throughout the project to reveal what’s working and what’s not.
 Build a sustainable resource base for the project.
 how leadership throughout the project by connecting
and coordinating partners and project members. Show leadership at the end of the project
by gradually transferring responsibility for the behaviour change from your organization to
your partners and/or the group you were influencing.

19. Additional Resources for GHSEs
The Global Health Social
Enterprise: An Emerging
Approach to Global Health
Research and Development
http://healthresearchpolicy.org/sitesh
ealthresearchpolicy.org/files/assessm
ents/files/R4D%20-
%20Social%20Enterprise%20for%20Gl
obal%20Health.pdf