A crowdfunding website dedicated to global public health initiatives by healthcare nonprofits hopes to provide a funding vehicle for much-needed healthcare resources for developing countries. Johnson & Johnson is behind CaringCrowd and launched the website in September.
In an interview at SXSW’s Medtech Expo with CaringCrowd co-founder Derek Fetzer, he said 33 percent of the projects that have been posted have been funded. He said the site seeks to help NGOs improve their visibility to would-be supporters.
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“We’re free, we focus on global public health, and we have an external panel of public health experts who vet applicants to ensure the initiatives are a good idea and are safe.”
Among the projects currently on the website, one is seeking $30,000 to provide emergency care doctors in Uganda. One initiative that’s met its funding goal is providing handwashing facilities in classrooms in the Ivory Coast to reduce transmission of infectious diseases. Another will provide an ultrasound unit in a community in Congo to improve maternity care.
Although there are a few crowdfunding websites dedicated to or permitting funding for individual medical bills such as Watsi and GoFundMe, Fetzer said the website is designed to fill a niche in the global public health space.
Funding priorities outlined on the website include physician supply, diagnosing and treating particular illnesses, educating people about their health, and
providing better equipment and more medications to hospitals and clinics.
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Fetzer, who launched the crowdfunding platform with co-founder John Brennick, as well as Sara Gorman and Steve Ruhmel, said he would like to see more mental health initiatives offered on the website.
He said the team plans to make updates to the platform to improve the user experience.