Market Shapers with Inder Singh
Sep 29, 2026 · 26 min · 9 segments
Over the course of the season, we’ve spoken with a number of guests who led CHAI’s work to reduce prices and shape markets for drugs, diagnostics, and other essential health products. They’ve given us…
Inder SinghHostSo where did CHI start?
I remember learning about this unusual foundation, the Clinton Foundation and the work they were doing on health care in grad school.
I had this belief that the world had these products, drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, but they weren't getting to the people most in need.
And at the time, HIV AIDS was this huge pandemic that was tearing countries out from the middle.
I remember hearing this compelling story by one of my professors about how in the 1980s he went to Malawi and the Ministry of Finance was 80% full, 20% empty roles.
There was natural attrition and they had sufficient people to do what they needed to do.
If you can't even allocate money at the Ministry of Finance, how do you run a country? That was his argument for why HIV-AIDS was different.
We've got to be able to find economic reasons to get these drugs and diagnostics delivered to people when they need it, where they need it.
And for better or for worse, that became the guiding principle of my career for the next 20 years.
And at the time, they had this incredible track record over a very short period of time.
I was trying to volunteer at the time, thinking, hey, I'll come back in 10, 15 years' time when I'm more established and be able to lead part of it.
And you've heard one of the stories that Aaron Petillo told us during his episode.
So where did CHI start?
I remember learning about this unusual foundation, the Clinton Foundation and the work they were doing on health care in grad school.
I had this belief that the world had these products, drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, but they weren't getting to the people most in need.
And at the time, HIV AIDS was this huge pandemic that was tearing countries out from the middle.
I remember hearing this compelling story by one of my professors about how in the 1980s he went to Malawi and the Ministry of Finance was 80% full, 20% empty roles.
There was natural attrition and they had sufficient people to do what they needed to do.
If you can't even allocate money at the Ministry of Finance, how do you run a country? That was his argument for why HIV-AIDS was different.
We've got to be able to find economic reasons to get these drugs and diagnostics delivered to people when they need it, where they need it.
And for better or for worse, that became the guiding principle of my career for the next 20 years.
And at the time, they had this incredible track record over a very short period of time.
I was trying to volunteer at the time, thinking, hey, I'll come back in 10, 15 years' time when I'm more established and be able to lead part of it.
And you've heard one of the stories that Aaron Petillo told us during his episode.
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