Bloomberg Businessweek
Delivering Critical Services to Remote Communities, Our Fragile Moment, New Covid Variant
Sep 27, 2024
Tara Nathan, EVP and Founder of Mastercard’s Community Pass, shares insights on improving access to social services in remote communities in Africa and South Asia. Michael E. Mann, a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses lessons from his book, stressing urgent climate action informed by historical data. Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Senior Scholar at Johns Hopkins, analyzes the new Covid XEC variant, emphasizing readiness for future outbreaks and targeted vaccinations for high-risk groups, all while navigating ongoing public health challenges.
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Quick takeaways
- Mastercard's Community Pass program has improved social service delivery in remote communities, enhancing financial access and agricultural yields for smallholder farmers.
- The podcast stresses the importance of learning from Earth's climatic history to inform contemporary climate action and mitigate future warming scenarios.
Deep dives
Empowering Smallholder Farmers
The Community Pass program aims to enhance financial access for smallholder farmers in remote areas of Africa and India by providing digital platforms that connect them to essential resources. Over the past year, the initiative has scaled to reach 6 million users across six global markets, offering services like authenticated seed supply and access to marketplaces. As a result, users have experienced a yield increase of 30-50% due to improved seed quality, and they can now engage directly with multiple buyers, leading to a 20-30% improvement in selling prices. This approach not only supports their economic stability but also bolsters climate resilience by empowering farmers to adapt their cropping strategies in the face of climate change.
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