Last month, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a $100 Million Data for Health program. This program, which will be launched in partnership with the Australian government, will help 20 middle to low income countries better collect public health data. One article recently published by PR Newswire states:
“Each year the World Health Organization estimates that 65% of all deaths worldwide – 35 million each year – go unrecorded. Millions more deaths lack a documented cause. This gap creates major obstacles for understanding and addressing public health problems. The Data for Health initiative seeks to provide governments, aid organizations, and public health leaders with tools and systems to better collect data – and use it to prioritize health challenges, develop policies, deploy resources, and measure success.”
Using IoT (Internet of Things) devices such as smartphones and other communication technologies, the program hopes to help 1.2 billion people in 20 countries live healthier, longer lives.