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Comment by jaxomlotus | Hacker News Reader

I just funded a pregnant women's medical care and it only cost $215??? In the USA it cost tens of thousands of dollars. Amazing.

On a separate note, this is an AWESOME idea and service. Trust the private sector to take on poverty, where the government has failed to date.

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>Trust the private sector to take on poverty, where the government has failed to date.

The government has been pretty succesful in taking on poverty in Nordic countries, but it requires taxes.

In the USA, the doctors, nurses, and admin staff all live a more expensive life than their colleagues in less developed countries (and not in strictly bad ways). I'd also suspect that your $215 wouldn't cover, say, an emergency caesarian, or an epidural and similar drugs.

I can't speak to everywhere, but in Kenya (the funding in the OP was for a Kenyan) many of the charity medical facilities are run by religious organizations, who recruit religious medical professionals from abroad to volunteer their time and services. If an OB/GYN happens to be volunteering the person could very well receive a C section. They also have stockpiles of various drugs which they've received from donations, so they could get an epidural if they happened to have the right stuff in the stock room.

Most of the groups who take on poverty in Kenya are religious organizations. I guess they are the private sector but I often wonder if that's what people have in mind when they make comments like yours.

... and where the private sector has also failed to date.

Awesome. Thanks for donating!

It's pretty incredible to think that by connecting people, we may be able to transcend systems that aren't working.

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