Sourced from: http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2011/pr110531_1.html
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in cooperation with the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, and The World Bank in March, 2011 had announced a call for applications for Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development competition inviting innovative prevention and treatment approaches aimed at benefiting pregnant women and newborns in rural, low resource settings around the time of birth. Response to this request was so encouraging that it became one of the largest pools of applicants ever for a USAID competition.
More than 600 entries were received from non-governmental organizations, academic and medical research institutions, faith-based organizations, for-profit companies, medical associations, and foundations with solutions and approaches that can go a long way in saving lives at birth.
Nearly half of the applications came from outside of the United States and more than a quarter were received from developing countries.
In the near future, 75 Grand Challenge finalists will be selected who will be invited to attend a Development Exchange in Washington, D.C from July 26-28. The Development Exchange will serve as a platform for innovators, funders and public health experts to network and share ideas. The Exchange will also offer an opportunity to concerned organizations and individuals to network, engage in innovative problem solving discussions, and look for collective action.
This partnership leverages the collective resources of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, and The World Bank. About $14 million are expected to be offered for this grant program’s first round of funding. Over 5 years, the partners aim to invest at least $50 million in groundbreaking and sustainable projects with the potential to have a transformative effect on the lives of pregnant women and their babies in the hardest to reach corners of the world.
