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We are delighted to announce that the Health Finance Coalition (HFC) has received an ecosystem catalyst grant of CAD $500,000 from Grand Challenges Canada. This critical investment will help strengthen health systems in sub-Saharan Africa. While Africa is home to 16 percent of the global population and 23 percent of the global burden of disease, less than 2% of global impact investment capital goes towards health-related investments on the continent. “The Health Finance Coalition is incredibly grateful to Grand Challenges Canada for their commitment to scaling locally-led solutions that aim to improve access to quality and affordable care and supplies for the most vulnerable populations in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Colleen Connell, Managing Director, Health Finance Coalition. “These funds will work to strengthen Africa’s healthcare ecosystem and bring…

In an effort to make progress towards better health outcomes for women living in the developing world, at Grand Challenges Canada we aim to tackle the barriers in women’s health through our three targeted challenges: Saving Lives at Birth, Saving Brains and Global Mental Health. As we approach the Women Deliver 2013, I wanted to take the chance to highlight each of these programs and how they aim to support women’s health globally. Saving Brains As many as 200 million children fail to reach their full developmental potential from exposure to risk factors – malnutrition, infection, poor…

…Mental Health International Congress (eMHIC) took place in Ottawa, Canada, on September 19th and 20th.  The theme of this year’s Congress, “Digital Building Capacity: 24/7 Mental Health Support for All,” brought together experts and leaders to discuss how digital mental health can provide support and services for individuals in need of care.    Representing Grand Challenges Canada, Portfolio Managers Sahil Chopra and Pulkit…efficiency, and provide innovative insights into mental health care.  Addressing Workforce Shortages: Digital mental health solutions can help alleviate workforce shortages and improve accessibility to care. However, significant gaps remain in the use of these tools for prevention and promotion. Most existing models tend to be reactive, focusing on issue management rather than proactive prevention.  Cultural Sensitivity of Tools: Tools developed in the Global South should be…

By: Chloe Panganiban  We are proud to announce the launch of the Innovator Council. Drawing on the expertise of 11 leaders from Grand Challenges Canada’s global health, humanitarian and Indigenous innovation portfolios, the Innovator Council will strategize, share insights and provide feedback on GCC’s work, including our strategic plans, the innovator experience, grants management processes and more.   Through the Council, GCC aims to centre the innovator experience in our work and improve how we provide support to innovators, their organizations and the communities they serve.   Led by GCC’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) portfolio, the Council will meet monthly on specific…and development, including non-profit organizations.  Ananas Kahamba is the Founder of Provide Hope in Action, an NGO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He has worked for over fifteen years in the humanitarian sector alongside international organizations.   Dr. Iffat Zafar Aga is the Co-Founder and COO of Sehat Kahani, a telemedicine-based business in Pakistan.…in Kenya. Recognized for her work in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Eva has over 20 years of leadership experience in the NGO sector and has significantly impacted gender-based violence prevention and SRHR services.  Dr. Menelik Desta Argaw is the Executive Director of the Ethiopian School Readiness Initiative, which collaborates with the Addis Ababa Education Bureau to promote child-friendly preschool programs.   Monica Berti is the Program Manager at Youth Empowerment and Development Aid in South Sudan. She has seven years of experience in international cooperation…

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA) have extended their Collaborative Agreement until the end of 2025 to accelerate the scaling of health innovations. This partnership combines WHO's ability to identify public health needs with IDIA's network of innovation funders, aiming to promote and implement impactful innovations in low- and middle-income countries.  Dr Karlee Silver, IDIA Founding Member and CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, added, “We are very pleased to…Initiated in 2021, the collaboration focuses on creating a shared agenda to facilitate the demand, supply, assessment, and scale-up of proven health innovations. Notable achievements include the co-design of the World Health Innovation Forum in India in 2023, highlighting the importance of scaling up innovations in public health systems.  Key areas of collaboration include enhancing the identification of innovation demand, contributing relevant innovations from IDIA's pipeline, efficient assessment of scale-ready innovations, identifying opportunities for scale-up, and developing innovation and scaling skills among stakeholders.  The partnership, endorsed by leaders like Jeremy Farrar of WHO and Dr. Karlee Silver of IDIA, underscores a…

…early death. Women with a history of high blood pressure during pregnancy have more than twice the risk of premature death from heart disease making it essential to measure and track blood pressure, especially in low-resource settings where there may be limited access to medical tools. During Grand Challenges Canada’s Round 8 funding for the Saving Lives at Birth program, we provided funding to Ona Kenya to develop the first cuffless smartphone-based blood pressure measurement app. The app, OPTiBP, uses optical…

To facilitate the learning objectives of the summer student program at Grand Challenges Canada and the Sandra Rotman Centre, the lovely and talented Lauren Leahy has arranged a variety of speaker sessions for the student staff with esteemed researchers and practitioners in the field of global health. On Tuesday, May 22, the students heard from Dr. Donald Cole, of the…rather means equitable health for everyone, everywhere. It is therefore important to consider what advantages or barriers exist that perpetuate disparities in actual health status among different groups of people, both within and across populations. In Canada, this often means addressing the unique needs of First Nation, Inuit, or Métis populations, as well as immigrant…populations, and that if we consider outcomes such as food security, access to nutritious food, purchasing power, social organization, community cohesion, etc., there are many reasons to promote a mixture of farm sizes and technologies. In particular, he referenced the mental health benefits of being involved in a community gardening or farming project, even here in downtown Toronto; while such a project cannot compete with large commercial farms for efficiency in producing food products, there are other non-market benefits that contribute significantly to individuals’ and communities’ well-being. Thanks to Dr. Cole for an interesting and inspiring conversation! The content was fascinating and the career commentary and advice will be…