Swiss Re Foundation Report 2019 - Voices for resilience

At a time when health systems across the globe face severe pressures, the importance of strengthening underlying systems becomes more relevant than ever. If the Foundation's activities in 2019 had a theme, it was healthcare access.

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Published on: 26 Mar 2020

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Swiss Re Foundation focus on improving healthcare access where it’s lacking

Illness and disease are universal, while access to healthcare is not. Moreover, ill health cements poverty, which breeds ill health – a vicious circle. Health expenditures alone push an estimated 100 million people worldwide into extreme poverty each year.

Does healthcare really have to work least well for those who need it most? At the Swiss Re Foundation, we believe the answer is no. We therefore focus on improving healthcare access where it’s lacking. In 2019 we intensified our collaboration with partners that are helping make the universal health coverage envisioned under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3 a global reality. Read in our 2019 Foundation Report how we partner with the digital health pioneer Living Goods to bring basic healthcare to remote places in Kenya. Equipped with smart technology and training, community health workers help fill gaps in "last mile" healthcare delivery by providing education, diagnosis, treatment and referrals right where people live.

Our collaboration with Living Goods helps close the "last mile" distribution gap of health systems with low-cost, digital solutions

Stefan Huber Fux, Director Swiss Re Foundation, Swiss Re Management Ltd

Foundation Focus Area

Report 2019 Voices for resilience

In our latest report, you will also find an interview with Professor Anthony D. So, a leading researcher on transformative technologies in the Hopkins Alliance for a Healthier World. He offers additional perspectives on health and explains why improving healthcare access calls for more than smart technologies.

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