Our Perspective: COVID-19

With the global health crisis unfolding around us, the Health Finance Institute is actively monitoring and responsive to the ever-evolving pandemic. 

What is our role at HFI? The World Health Organization has released an information note on COVID-19 and NCDs, including recommendations on lifestyle and patient management. Individuals with co-morbidities and underlying chronic conditions are at higher risk for infection, severity of, and death by COVID-19, as recent data from the CDC reveals. We at HFI are especially concerned about these most vulnerable individuals around the world. We support the urgent need to increase aggressive diagnostic testing, ensure contact tracing and isolation, and continue physical or “social” distancing measures. We must also work to ensure our healthcare systems and healthcare workers have the capacity and proper equipment necessary to do their jobs on the front lines, especially in low-resource settings. 

As the COVID-19 infection rate climbs globally, HFI is uniquely positioned to call attention to a deeper understanding of the population that are most at risk for severe infection and mortality due to COVID-19. HFI stays committed to strengthening health systems and responding to this urgent global health pandemic while upholding our mission of increasing NCD investments and health for all. We are working with our partners and colleagues to hone and adapt our priorities to the emerging needs in the months ahead. One example has been the in-house development of a COVID-19 forecasting tool that analyzes associates between COVID-19 and NCD diagnoses and/or risk factors. 

Now more than ever, we must come together as a global health community and break down disease silos to curb this global health pandemic. We look forward to continuing the conversation with you via email and via our Twitter page for frequent updates. 

As the safety and health of our partners, colleagues, team, and advisors are of the utmost concern for us, we sincerely wish the best for you and your families during this time.

The Helmsley Charitable Trust and Health Finance Institute Partnership Announcement

Partnerships are fundamental to move global health and economic development forward. Especially during the most challenging times, partnerships streamline efforts to ensure progress is being made so that every human being can be healthy and live to their utmost potential. The growing NCD burden, and emerging global health threats, require innovative partnerships and solutions to alter business as usual'.

Earlier this year, the Health Finance Institute (HFI) received its institutional seed grant of $3,163,666 from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to mobilize financing and build partnerships to address the global burden of chronic disease. 

The Helmsley Charitable Trust partnership is invaluable because it will accelerate and scale our impact to create a healthier and more productive world, where no one will needlessly suffer from treatable and preventable diseases. 

 Resources

• World Health Organization (WHO), “Information note on COVID-19 and noncommunicable diseases”

• British Heart Foundation, “Coronavirus: what it means for you if you have heart or circulatory disease”

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Are you at higher risk”

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “People with asthma and COVID-19”

• National Cancer Institute (NCI), “Coronavirus: What people with cancer should know”

• Resolve to Save Lives, “Novel Coronavirus, a priority for the NCD community too”

• American Diabetes Association, “How coronavirus impacts people with diabetes"

Events

• Global Health and Innovation Conference, 4-5 April 2020, New Haven, Connecticut at Yale University, organized by Unite for Sight (Virtual)

• World Bank Spring Meetings, 13-19 April 2020, Washington, DC, organized by the World Bank Group (Virtual)

• SwitchPoint 2020, 17-18 September 2020, Saxapahaw, NC, organized by IntraHealth International

• The International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit, 19-23 October 2020, Marrakech, Morocco

• Micronutrient Forum 5th Global Conference, 8-13 November 2020, Bangkok, Thailand, organized by Micronutrient Forum

• Geneva Health Forum, 16-18 November 2020, Geneva, Switzerland, organized by Geneva Health Forum