Developing Capacity to Assess Health Interventions and Poverty Reduction: The Stanford Global Health and Poverty Model

Health interventions can diminish poverty by increasing the ability to work, save, and avoid catastrophic health expenditures. However, how best to reduce poverty through health interventions is unclear. For example, how can we address the dual epidemics of diabetes and TB in India to minimize the risk of catastrophic health expenditures? We propose to develop new capacity at Stanford to address these questions about the impact of health programs on poverty. We will develop a simulation model, the Stanford Global Health and Poverty Model, to estimate how alternative resource allocations for health interventions will influence population -level health and economic outcomes, specifically focusing on poverty alleviation. By simulating both communicable and non -communicable diseases, we can examine complex synergies between multiple diseases and poverty that have not been addressed before, and we can provide guidance about how investments in health can reduce poverty.