Stars in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

Grand Challenges Canada ( part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) is seeking bold ideas for products, services and implementation models that could transform how persistent challenges in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health are addressed in low- and middle-income countries.

The bold ideas are expected to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health through one or more of the following pathways: improving use of essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health services; preventing, managing and treating communicable and non-communicable diseases that disproportionately affect pregnant women and young children (e.g., through improving access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation); and improving early childhood development.

Of particular interest are innovations to improve reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in humanitarian contexts, notably among internally displaced and refugee populations, as well as innovations that improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, so that they are empowered and have greater influence over their lives and futures.

Eligibility: people in low and middle income countries ( this includes Thailand) and Canada.

Budget and duration: up to CAD $100,000 for up to 12–18 months to develop and test the proposed innovation

Deadline: 3rd August 2017

More information: 
http://www.grandchallenges.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/20170606-StarsRMNH-RFP-EN.pdf 
http://www.grandchallenges.ca/funding-opportunities/

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Grand Challenges

Accelerate Development of New Therapies for Childhood Cryptosporidium Infection (Round 18)

Diarrhea caused by infection with Cryptosporidium species (primarily Cryptosporidium hominis or C. parvum) is becoming increasingly appreciated as a major contributor to diarrhea morbidity and mortality in children in the developing world.

This call is soliciting new tools and technologies that have potential i) to overcome the technical barriers in working with Cryptosporidium that have historically hampered progress, and ii) to improve our ability to develop and translate active compounds into effective therapies for treatment of pediatric cryptosporidiosis. 

The goal of this call is to develop broadly applicable approaches that can be used to accelerate development of therapeutic interventions, rather than to support the development of specific interventions themselves.

Examples of projects - 

• New methods for the identification and validation of drug targets in Cryptosporidium,as well as methods for interrogating validated targets within the context of whole cell phenotypic assays (e.g. target-based reporter assays);
• Novel methods for genetic manipulation of the Cryptosporidium genome, particularly those that allow regulated gene expression;
• Systematic approaches to explore opportunities for host-directed therapies, based on a rational understanding of parasite metabolism and parasite/host interactions;
• Validation of small animal disease models that are more tractable than the calf or gnotobiotic piglet, but which model human infection and disease (particularly valuable if immunocompetent and/or supportive of C. hominis infection);

Deadline - 9 November 2016 

Budget - Phase I grants will be for $100,000 USD for a grant period of 18 months. Phase I projects that show promise will be eligible to apply for follow-on funding, called "Phase II".

Eligibility - There is no geographical restriction for applicants. The foundation encourages scientists worldwide to submit their ideas. 

Full details - http://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/accelerate-development-new-therapies-childhood-cryptosporidium-infection-round-18

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Grand Challenges

Design New Solutions to Data Integration for Malaria Elimination (Round 18) 

Despite the acknowledgement of the role of surveillance in malaria elimination, the full potential of available information communication technology (ICT), data systems, harmonization, analytics and visualization has not yet been effectively applied to the challenge of malaria elimination. 

The foundation is looking for proposals of innovative solutions for improving data availability and use in decision-making for malaria elimination that focus on innovation in interoperability: solutions that will reduce the time for data harmonization by automation or skill set simplification. 

The Foundation is especially interested in applicants and solutions that come from sectors beyond malaria, or even outside health. Solutions do not have to be brand new; they can be an existing method or tool used in another context repurposed and applied. 

Winning proposals should:

• Focus on simplicity of methods using routinely available data
• Explain the rationale for targeting specific countries or regions
• Describe approach for interoperability with country data systems including DHIS2
• Provide evidence that the activity is aligned to relevant national strategies on eHealth
• State the expected improvements over existing solutions, and how this will be evaluated
• Address cost of the solution and a description of how it can be brought to scale and be sustainable in the malaria-endemic developing world context
• Explain how the solution will strengthen existing health systems instead of building a parallel system
• If the solution involves building on or integrating a reporting system for additional disease areas, explain how it will strengthen malaria elimination decision-making

Deadline - 9 November 2016 

Budget - Phase I grants will be for $100,000 USD for a grant period of 18 months. Phase I projects that show promise will be eligible to apply for follow-on funding, called "Phase II".

Eligibility - There is no geographical restriction for applicants. The foundation encourages scientists worldwide to submit their ideas. 

Full details - http://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/design-new-solutions-data-integration-malaria-elimination-round-18

Advance Notice - Grand Challenges Explorations

The Grand Challenges Explorations grant program from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds discovery research. 

The initial grants of US $100,000 and there are potential follow-on grants of up to US $1 million. 

The next round of applications will open September 2016. 

To start thinking about your project take a look at the recent winners here - http://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/photo/global-health-solutions.


To find out more about the Grand Challenges go here - http://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/about 

To find out more about the Foundation go here - http://www.gatesfoundation.org/