To Improve Global Health, Bloomberg Looks to Cities to Lead

Originally posted on www.insidephilanthropy.com. 

One of Michael Bloomberg's main contributions to the global fight against climate change has been to mobilize cities to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Bloomberg not only made New York City a leader in this area as mayor, but funded and also chaired C40, a global network of large cities working against climate change. Most recently, Bloomberg rallied cities in the U.S. to affirm their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement. 

Bloomberg also believes that cities worldwide have a key leadership role to play in improving public health, his other main passion. Much of his global health funding, which has mainly prioritized reducing deaths from tobacco use and road accidents, is targeted at changing practices and behavior in large cities, where over half of the world's population now lives. As Bloomberg gives new attention to non-communicable diseases in poorer countries—which he rightly sees as a much greater threat than better-known diseases like malaria and AIDS—much of that funding is likely to unfold in large metro areas, as well.

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