Devex: Opinion: Bridging the financing gap to save lives
Phyllis Costanza, the Head UBS Philanthropy and CEO of the UBS Optimus Foundation

“…Foreign aid and philanthropy are not enough to solve the problems we’re trying to address through the SDGs. We need more sustainable sources of investment in development. And we need to tap into private capital to get there. While $2.5 trillion is a big funding gap, it represents less than 2% of total private wealth. … Developing and implementing innovative blended finance mechanisms is one way to make philanthropic capital go farther. … More financial institutions can collaborate with bilateral and philanthropic funders to test solutions so that we move toward the point where innovative financing mechanisms become mainstream, made available to all investors who want to get involved. This will help bridge the gap between what traditional philanthropy is providing and what we need to achieve the SDGs — including a much-needed reduction in maternal mortality” (10/2).