Google and Facebook Say This Is What’s Holding Back Health Care for the World’s Poorest Kids

Fortune Brainstorm Health 2017
Fortune Brainstorm Health Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017. San Diego, CA 7:45 AM CONCURRENT BREAKFAST SOLUTION SESSIONS HEALTHCARE FOR 100 MILLION CHILDREN Intervention Track Advances in science and technology are pushing medicine ever forward and saving countless lives. But far simpler care can save tens of millions more each year—if we can get it to where it’s needed most. Indeed, around the world, 400 million people— a large percentage of them children— still lack access to the most basic of health services. We’ll explore ways to get urgently-needed care to the next generation, including by training and deploying at scale community health workers who can help stave off persistent threats such as malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases. Maria Cavalcanti, President and CEO, Pro Mujer Jackie Chang, Head of Mobile Inclusion Partnerships, Facebook Dr. Gary Gottlieb, Chief Executive Officer, Partners In Health Dr. Stuart Lustig, Medical Director, Behavioral Health, Cigna Dr. Raj Panjabi, Chief Executive Officer, Last Mile Health Prem Ramaswami, Senior Product Manager, Google Inc. Jeffrey C. Walker, Vice Chair, United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy for Health Moderator: Clifton Leaf, Fortune Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune Brainstorm Health
Stuart Isett Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortu

Executives from Google and Facebook and a slew of world health leaders say there’s a pretty big tech disparity that’s preventing children in the world’s poorest countries from getting world class health care: a lack of access to broadband and online networks.

That was one of the main topics explored during a Wednesday breakfast panel at Fortune‘s second annual Brainstorm Health‘s conference in San Diego. Last year, world leaders attending the FORTUNE + TIME Global Forum in Rome and Vatican City pledged to help bring health care to 100 million children over the next several years; at Wednesday’s plenary session, several of the key players in that effort convened to discuss just how to make the goal a reality.

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Attendees included: Last Mile Health CEO Dr. Raj Panjabi, winner of the $1 million 2017 TED Prize for his nonprofit’s work in training community health workers in Liberia; Partners in Health CEO Dr. Gary Gottlieb; Jeffrey Walker, Vice Chair of the United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy for Health; Cigna Medical Director for Behavioral Health Dr. Stuart Lustig; as well as Facebook Head of Mobile Inclusion Partnerships Jackie Chang and Google Senior Product Manager Prem Ramaswami.

This stacked collection of health experts and tech leaders broached everything from how a lack of proper financing models to turnover in Health Ministry departments in African nations and other emerging markets makes it difficult to treat the world’s children. But one potential solution could be new broadband networks that make it far easier to train doctors in remote regions.

“We need to figure out how to make connectivity reliable,” said the United Nation’s Walker. “We need a real focus on modernizing education of these community health workers, and we can do this by using a digital platform,” added Panjabi, noting that this is one area where tech actually helps create new jobs—rather than take them away—by taking medical education to the online realm.

Google’s Ramaswami believes health care information must also become more easily decipherable online in order to “empower 200 million parents” to know what do for their sick children.

Chang provided a concrete example of how online health-focused efforts can make a big difference: the Zika epidemic in Brazil. Facebook collaborated with UNICEF to target men and teach them some ways to help prevent Zika infection (which can be spread through unprotected sex). “82% exposed to our awareness campaign planned to take action,” she said.