Forbes: How To Stop The Next Pandemic: WHO Director, Bloomberg Offer 7 Directions
February 15, 2021
The trouble is nowadays many people tend to have relatively short attention spans and memories. “This is a very important moment,” explained Kelly Henning, MD, who has led Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Health program since its inception in 2007. “It’s a moment when the public is paying attention to public health.”
Read moreThe New York Times: Michael Bloomberg to Give $100 Million to Historically Black Medical Schools
September 3, 2020
Mr. Bloomberg, the billionaire and former mayor of New York, announced on Thursday that his philanthropic organization would give $100 million to four historically Black medical schools.
The immediate goal is to reduce medical students’ financial burdens by giving about 800 of them up to $100,000 in grants. The bigger goal, architects of the gift say, is to improve the health and wealth of Black Americans.
Read moreThe Boston Globe: Michael Bloomberg donates $3 million toward building a new Medford library
August 18, 2020
Growing up in Medford, Michael Bloomberg recalls how important the public library was to his family and the city. Now he has found a way to help keep it vital for future generations.
The former New York City mayor has made a $3 million gift to support the ongoing construction of a new library building in Medford, according to an announcement by Bloomberg Philanthropies — his charitable organization ― and the Medford Public Library Foundation.
Read moreTime Out New York: A $1.2 million grant helped turn outdoor areas in NYC into play spaces for kids
July 28, 2020
Although it’s been tricky navigating this new norm, parents have an option that will (safely) get their kiddos out and about this summer. Thanks to a generous $1.2 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ford Foundation and The JBP Foundation, the Fresh Air Fund has been able to host a lineup of outdoor programming, including “Open Spaces in the City.” This supervised, safe and distanced program for kids offers a little bit of everything: arts and crafts, sports, STEAM activities, yoga and dance parties—just to name a few. Oh, and did we mention it’s free?
Read moreThe New York Times: How Philanthropists Are Helping During the Crisis
March 27, 2020
Even Mr. Bloomberg, who wields enormous political clout as a former mayor and political donor, said he was focusing his philanthropic effort on working directly with mayors around the country to find the best ways to deploy the money.
Read moreThe New York Times: Sugary Drink Consumption Plunges in Chile After New Food Law
February 11, 2020
Four years after Chile embraced the world’s most sweeping measures to combat mounting obesity, a partial verdict on their effectiveness is in: Chileans are drinking a lot fewer sugar-laden beverages, according to study published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
Read moreUS News & World Report: Cities and Innovation: If You Map It, Will It Come?
October 29, 2019
The joint study from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and Bloomberg Philanthropies also found that urban innovation, from easing housing ordinances to attacking homelessness, can’t thrive without strong civic leadership and quality data sets to guide goals and decision-making.
Read moreCurbed: Colorful street transformations coming to 10 U.S. cities
October 28, 2019
Over the last decade, U.S. cities have carved out dozens of public plazas from existing streets using little more than paint. A new grant program and guide announced today by Bloomberg Philanthropies will fund the creation of 10 street murals in 10 U.S. cities, as well as track the safety, economic, and civic impact of these projects.
Read moreThe Associated Press: Verbal autopsies used in push to better track global deaths
October 1, 2019
The interviewer asked: When did Sandrine begin to feel weak? Did she have a fever? Did her skin take on a yellow hue? Each typed answer determined the next question to pose, like following a phone tree. This was a “verbal autopsy” — an interview in which a trained health worker asks a close relative or caretaker about a recently deceased person. Increasingly, health officials are using these tools and their computer algorithms to learn more about the global course of human disease.
About 50 countries have attempted verbal autopsy projects, and the list is growing. On Tuesday, Bloomberg Philanthropies — a major funder of international health data initiatives — announced it will devote another $120 million over the next four years to continue projects in 20 previously funded countries, and add five more.
Read moreDetroit Free Press: Wearable device counts words Detroit parents say to their young children
September 24, 2019
Detroit is one of five cities chosen to launch a new program that equips children with special recording devices known as talk pedometers. They work like regular pedometers but instead of counting steps, they count how many words a child hears and speaks during the day.
Read more