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…Sanitation Challenge” address the dangers of inadequate sanitation worldwide, which disproportionately affect women and girls Affordable toilets with innovative self-closing trap door minimize odors, insects, and contribute to LIXIL’s goal of improved sanitation for 100 million people by the end of 2020 New York City — The Water Innovation Engine, a pioneering partnership led by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign…being used in 14 countries, with more than 1.2 million toilets installed, improving the lives of 6 million people. With today’s new funding, production will be scaled up to reach 15 million additional users. Across its global sanitation and hygiene activities, LIXIL aims to provide safe sanitation for 100 million additional people worldwide by the end of 2020 — a 4 percent reduction in the 2.3 billion worldwide who lack access to basic sanitation. That would represent a significant acceleration of the world’s pace towards a key United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for 2030: ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Each…

…director of the Nepal Mental Health Foundation.  For World Mental Health Day, Mr. Lamichhane writes a blog about his experience visiting The Banyan, an Indian non-governmental organization supported through Grand Challenges Canada’s Global Mental Health program. She could not remember her past. She was struggling hard to remember her family, childhood friends and the place she was born. She needed the help of her own imagination to recall her origins, with which she had… it is as though they share some kind of collective fate. After being taken in by The Banyan and off of the streets, it took several months for Sanchi to recover from the shock and trauma she had experienced. Her eyes still look scared. However, she has gradually become stronger, both physically and mentally. She…I have finally started to enjoy it after a decade. Here, I have my own identity and freedom. Some people know me by my name. I am invited to the important local events. I have some skills to share with my community and the kids. People help me learn essential social skills, which I had…

Dr. Aliya Naheed is an Associate Scientist at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). She is currently carrying out innovative research to promote food safety among street vendors in Bangladesh. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has seen one of the highest urban growth rates in recent decades and will be the third …become a public topic globally and, as in many developing countries, street food has become a health concern in Bangladesh as well. In 2013−2014, Grand Challenges Canada supported an intervention for promoting street food safety in Bangladesh, a first in the country. The grant aimed to improve knowledge about safe handling of food among street…

By Gabriella Brent, Sanjana Janardhanan, Lindsay Tuthill, and James Radner Humanitarian crises pose unprecedented threats to the safety, well-being, and future of children and families. In 2023, over 300 million people lived in crisis settings, the highest number since World War II. Amidst the devastation in Gaza, the turmoil across the Middle East, and persistent…led responses across the globe have demonstrated the capacity to go beyond meeting basic needs like food and shelter and incorporate holistic care-e.g., mental health and social support —from the outset. Local groups can deliver this kind of care in community settings, in ways that fit the culture and are attuned to on-the-ground priorities. In…a 34-year-old pregnant woman, fled with her 5-year-old daughter to a local shelter after witnessing an explosion that killed her sister-in-law. At the shelter, run by Foundation for Migrants, a refugee-led organization that provides trauma care and creates safe spaces for communities on the move, Nadia received support. Suffering from insomnia, fatigue, and deep emotional…about her unborn child. Every day she worried about her husband, an active soldier. The team at the shelter offered her a safe place to stay and invited her to join a group using art and creativity as tools to heal and build resilience. These interventions helped Nadia regain her sleep, establish daily routines, and…the international community navigates the complexities of crisis settings, we must walk alongside those who know the terrain. We call on international organizations and aid agencies to design their delivery models afresh, by partnering with local responders from the start. Together we can build on existing examples and keep learning from each other. Ultimately, our…

Daudi O. Simba (MD, PhD) is Associate Professor at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania. He is one of the innovators we support in our Stars In Global Health program, for a project aiming to improve access to anti-malarials World Malaria Day (April 25) is a chance to shine the spotlight on the global effort to fight malaria. Raising awareness remains critically…test and treatment drugs. The overarching idea was to provide antimalarials called artemether-lumefantrine (ALu) to those who tested positive for malaria. People who tested negative or showed signs of severe symptoms, would be referred to a health facility. This innovative strategy combined the country-wide implementation of the ADDOs with the booming motorcycle transport business in…

Innovation is a long game. What starts as a bold idea with the promise of tremendous social gains can take years to transform the status quo and achieve a big impact. To date, Grand Challenges Canada has supported over 500 innovations in our four short years of operation. We have come to appreciate the power of early results that can indicate if and when a…around the time of birth (Saving Lives at Birth), increasing human capital through early child development (Saving Brains), and increasing access to care and effectiveness of treatments for mental health conditions (Global Mental Health). We have had to figure out not only how to evaluate the progress of a wide variety of individual innovations, but…

Disclaimer: This piece discusses pregnancy and motherhood; while we use the term “mother” throughout the piece to mirror the language of the community we are collaborating with; we also acknowledge that not all pregnant people identify as “mothers.” We would like to recognize that pregnancy and motherhood can be experienced by people of all genders. Jacaranda Health is dedicated to improving the quality of care for mothers and babies seeking services at government health facilities, where most underserved people access care in Kenya. The problem they are trying to address is two-fold: how…government, as maternal and newborn health services are provided for free through public health facilities. Jacaranda has engaged national and county governments to share ownership in the design, implementation and scale-up of programs from its early days. This has meant ensuring their programs complement existing health system structures and that governments, especially those cost-sharing the programs, become invested…