Last week the World Health Organization announced a new partner in its effort to combat noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which — together with injuries — account for roughly 80 percent of deaths worldwide. Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire philanthropist, is the WHO’s new global ambassador for noncommunicable diseases.
Bloomberg takes a famously data-driven approach to public policy, and the same is true for the foundation he founded, Bloomberg Philanthropies. Last year the foundation launched a four-year, $100 million Data for Health initiative that seeks to help ministries of health understand what people are dying from in their countries.
“The goal here is really to address this giant gap, whereby we know 65 percent of deaths in the world — that’s about 35 million — go unrecorded,” said Dr. Kelly Henning, who has led the Bloomberg Philanthropies public health program since it started in 2007.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
