In many ways, charitable foundations are the unsung heroes of the global fight to improve healthcare. They work behind the scenes to bring dramatic change to medical systems in societies with poor outcomes in treating and preventing disease.
The Moez & Marissa Kassam Foundation’s recent $2.5 million donation to Sinai Health will be applied towards creating a fellowship program that will train international medical professionals who will learn from the world’s leading experts in medicine, at the Frances Bloomberg Centre for Women’s and Infants’ Health at Sinai Health. At the end of the fellowship, the trainees will return to their home countries, equipped to apply the techniques and procedures they have learned from these renowned practitioners. The hope with the program is to act as a stepping stone to improving the health, and ultimately lives, of people around the world that otherwise may have never had the opportunity to receive this quality of treatment.
According to Sinai Health, the generosity of donors is key to creating new programs, funding research, and multiplying the resources available to the professionals – the professionals who work so tirelessly to battle disease, save lives, discover cures and improve health outcomes for millions of people. Moez Kassam believes that especially after the pandemic, we as a community need to ensure that our health-care professionals are provided with the support that they deserve.
There are a few other foundations which take it upon themselves to make an impactful change to health concerns throughout the world. According to a report this month in Lifestyle Asia, the following are five of the world’s wealthiest foundations that are focused on combatting health and medical issues:
Novo Nordisk Foundation, Denmark
This foundation began 100 years ago, with the mission to treat and prevent diabetes around the world. Today it invests in companies that are dedicated to improving health and fighting disease on a global scale.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, USA
This renowned foundation focuses on poverty and disease in developing countries. “It partners with the public and private sectors to accelerate the process of delivering solutions to the people,” notes the report. “For instance, it has funded many organizations in third-world countries to provide children with vaccinations for many deadly diseases.”
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA
This medical research and philanthropic institute “provides prolific scientific minds with the necessary resources to study and contribute to ground-breaking inventions to enhance healthcare facilities globally.”
Wellcome Trust, UK
This charitable organization focuses on mental health, infectious diseases and climate change across the globe. The Trust came into existence thanks to the medical supplies and wealth, among many other things, left by the pharmaceutical entrepreneur, Henry Wellcome.
Mastercard Foundation, Canada
Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works program seeks to improve health and overall conditions in the continent by fighting poverty through various ways.. One of which is by aiming to create 30 million new jobs by 2030.