Strategic Priority Strengthening Health Systems and Preventing Pandemics

With anchor funding from Skoll, Oxygen Hub partnered with local entrepreneurs to launch 14 oxygen plants across Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. In Nigeria, LifeBank—also a Skoll grantee—is the franchisee partner, and already generating sales for more than 95 percent of the oxygen being produced. Oxygen Hub was able to reduce capital expenditure by nearly 60 percent and is developing standard operating procedures and a digital platform to support franchisee operations. Our significant early investment catalyzed additional funding, including from MacKenzie Scott and Rockefeller Foundation.

The African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, the Broad Institute of MIT, and Harvard have worked to develop a leading-edge pandemic preemption system. Sentinel detects new viruses, connect data systems, and empowers the healthcare community to quickly respond to new threats of outbreaks.

As part of a joint collaborative effort under the umbrella of the #CovidActionCollab, Swasti, The Health Catalyst demonstrated the feasibility of using surveillance data from open drain wastewater to inform and drive public health measures to respond to the spread of COVID-19 in Bengaluru. Mumbai and 17 other cities have already expressed interest in developing similar systems and applications for additional pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, and more.

The Skoll Foundation made a group of investments around global coordination and advocacy, supporting the work of Pandemic Action Network, The Elders, ONE, and the UN Engagement Hub.

Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and a coalition of partners including Skoll Awardee Financing Alliance for Health, Skoll Awardee Last Mile Health, and Skoll grantee Community Health Impact Coalition launched Africa Frontline First, an ambitious new community health financing effort. Its Catalytic Fund assembles diverse partners across sectors—philanthropic, public, private, and multilateral institutions—to build strong health systems in 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and professionalize 200,000 community health workers by 2030.