13 Dec 2006  Research & Ideas  Improving Public Health for the
Poor  Microfinance may offer a window on new methods for
widening access to healthcare for the poor, says Harvard
Business School's Michael Chu. He and colleagues at the Harvard
School of Public Health have embarked on a new project to serve
this critical sector. Bringing together public healthcare and
market forces "could have huge impact," he says. Key concepts
include:    • Poverty is defined by three billion people in the
world living on less than $2 a day.   • Public health as a
private good should be complementary to public health as a
public good, not in opposition to it.   • Project Antares wants
to take high-impact initiatives and deliver them through
commercial means. Part of its measure of success is whether a
higher percentage of the population is helped than would be
otherwise.   • Poverty cannot be tamed with a single solution.
It needs an arsenal comprising education, healthcare, housing,
access to basic services, and access to capi