1. Microfinance as a Platform for Health Improvement and Protection 2009 United Nations ECOSOC High-Level Segment: Thematic Debate, July 9, 2009

2. Reaching more than 155 million borrowers and savers, 83% of whom are women. 3500 Microfinance Organizations (Microcredit Summit Report, December 2007) More than 34 million very poor households* touching 170 million of the world’s poorest people. * Most conservative estimate Reach of Microfinance

3. Microfinance as a platform

4. Established access and distribution channels

5. Sustainability

6. Mobilization of Resources for Health

7. Role of Women

8. Demonstration across many more MFIs and settings, especially those reaching the poorest women Massive replication of most successful innovations Careful research to measure and document impact Promotion of integrated approaches to signal importance of broader application Support to realize promise and potential of integrated services

9. Private nonprofit 1946 Technical assistance to NGOs, MFIs, others Freedom from Hunger creates and delivers innovations that support the self-help efforts of the chronically hungry poor. Reaching more than 1.4 million mostly poor, rural women About 8 million people, counting families affected

10. Marcia Metcalfe Global Manager, Microfinance and Health Protection mmetcalfe@freedomfromhunger.org