Dr. David Dror, '66 Lecture: "From Buffalo to Bihar, India: How Education in the Richest Country Has Prepared Me to Work in One of the Poorest"
Thursday, September 22
Award Presentation and Lecture: 6 p.m. | Reception: To follow lecture
Rockwell Hall - Ciminelli Recital Hall (Campus Map)
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Dr. David Dror, ’66, has been at the forefront of improving the lives of those living in impoverished countries for more than 30 years. His humanitarian efforts will be recognized when he receives the Buffalo State Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award before his lecture at Ciminelli Recital Hall on Thursday, September 22 at 6 p.m.
Global Health Insurance Innovation Impacts More Than 300,000 People
One of Dr. Dror’s greatest achievements has been innovating the concept of health insurance for those who live in low income countries. As the founder and managing director of the Micro Insurance Academy (MIA) in New Delhi, India, he has helped provide affordable health insurance to more than 300,000 people in countries in Africa and Asia. The MIA is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that specializes in providing technical support to resource-poor communities wishing to establish member-owned micro health insurance. It serves communities living below the poverty line, tribal groups and migrant populations in India, Nepal, Asia and Africa.
Previously, Dr. Dror worked for more than 20 years at the International Labour Office in Geneva, Switzerland as a Social Security/Health Specialist within the Social Protection Sector. He provided advice to governments on health insurance systems and health financing. He also led the “Social Re” Project to conceptualize and design a new approach to sustainable community health financing.
Dr. Dror is an acclaimed international expert in micro insurance, widely recognized for his research on ways to make health insurance suit the needs of the poor. He believes that local communities can work together to create viable solutions to combat the poverty cycle, and he has developed a cost-effective business model that has served the world’s most vulnerable people in a sustainable manner.
Health Insurance Research and Education
As an educator, Dr. Dror has taught health economics and health insurance at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He has also served as a principal investigator on multiple research projects on low-cost health insurance and community-based health insurance in India and Nepal.
He has published several books and more than 60 articles in refereed journals. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences, and is the recipient of many honors and awards. One of the many awards that he has received is the “Outstanding Achievement Award for Contribution to Social Welfare Issues in India 2012,” which was presented by the Public Relations Council of India.
Dr. Dror was an international student from Israel and graduated from Buffalo State in 1966 with a B.A. in History. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics & Management from the Université Claude Bernard (Lyon, France) in 2002.
Learn more about Dr. Dror.