Our Purpose
We believe that health is a basic human right. Everything we do ensures lasting health change for all.
The Dilemma
In recent years, major and sustained growth in emerging economies, particularly across Africa, have shown promising strides towards better health outcomes fueled by increased prosperity, democratic reforms, the advancement of human rights, and access to cutting-edge technologies. The expansion of trade, education, and travel has bolstered research and innovation capabilities in low and middle-income nations. Consequently, the once-exclusive domain of global health research has transcended geographical boundaries, with solutions now emerging from all corners of the globe.
Nevertheless, entrenched systemic barriers impede the widespread dissemination of health research and innovation. These obstacles encompass frail health infrastructure, insufficient human capital, and limited public investment in the healthcare sector. Nowhere is the urgency for health research and innovation more acute than in Africa, which, despite harboring 11% of the world's population, shoulders 24% of the global disease burden while receiving less than 1% of the world's health expenditure.
Despite Kenya's commendable economic growth in recent times, it grapples with formidable public health challenges that could be mitigated through robust health research and innovation efforts. These challenges include a substantial burden of communicable diseases, a mounting prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), alarmingly high rates of maternal and infant mortality (360 women per 100,000 live births, and 48 children per 1,000 live births), and a dire shortage of physicians, with just one doctor available for every 10,000 residents.
The Opportunity
More and more countries are finding that progress—spurred by advances in technology and better access to global markets—is a big reason their economies are growing. Governments, investors, and entrepreneurs are using new ideas, smart ways to pay for things, and helpful rules to bring about the next generation of services.
Health innovation means finding new ways to make people healthier and happier. It could be better rules for health services, new products, or even creative ways to reach out to people in need. It's about thinking differently and making sure everyone, especially those who are most vulnerable, gets the care they need. Health innovation can help in lots of ways—like preventing illnesses, promoting good health habits, treating sickness, or helping people recover from injuries or disabilities. The World Health Organization says that health innovation is a big part of making sure everyone gets the healthcare they need, which is one of the goals we're aiming for with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Innovations that focus on health, fairness, and making progress in society bring about new ideas, tools, and solutions that help people lead healthier and more fulfilling lives. These innovations aren't just about healthcare—they're also important in other areas like farming, education, and building economies.
The main aim of health innovation and research is to improve bwi's ability to meet the health needs of everyone, both as a group and as individuals. This means making sure everyone can get the healthcare they need whenever they need it, and making the healthcare system work better for everyone. There is a continued need to scout, develop and test scalable solutions and improvements in health policies, systems, products, technologies, services, and delivery methods, to improve treatment, diagnosis, education, outreach, prevention, research quality and delivery, and access to health care.We're always looking for new ideas and testing them out to make sure they really work and can help more people get the care they need.
Our Theory of Change
At bwi, we have adopted a continuous research and development approach in our work. We now have a viable pipeline of social innovations/ventures at various stages of development touching on different areas of focus: Health Systems Strengthening, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and Family Planning, Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Primary Health Care, and Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Drawing from our extensive knowledge and experience of over 60 years in public health, health research, and program implementation, we're currently exploring ways to provide sustainable water solutions to rural and peri-urban communities in Kenya. This involves not just providing access to safe drinking water but also implementing community-based health programs alongside it.
Additionally, we've launched a movement focused on family-centered wellness to combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This holistic approach addresses various aspects of wellbeing including psychological, physical, mental, and financial health, benefiting both organizations and communities.
In partnership with the County Governments, we're exploring a new training curriculum for sanitation marketing to improve sanitation and hygiene practices, particularly among mothers and children under five. This initiative combines health education with entrepreneurial approaches, enabling communities and small businesses to access loans for constructing sanitation facilities through microfinance institutions.
Our Ask
We seek to create catalytic, shared value partnerships with Philanthropic Organizations, Donors, Social Impact Investors, and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) with a proposition to forge transformative partnerships that generate shared value. Together, we aim to expedite the development, piloting, and eventual widespread adoption of innovative health solutions grounded in human-centric design principles, ensuring both economic viability and programmatic sustainability.