The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is launching a new Grand Challenge: Creating and Measuring Integrated Solutions for Healthy Birth, Growth, and Development. This challenge focuses on new measurement tools and new combinations of approaches to ensure all children thrive – that they not only survive, but also have the chance to live healthy productive lives.

The ultimate goal of this challenge is to determine what packages of interventions should be delivered to which group of individuals at what point in their life cycle to reduce the burden of fetal growth impairment and preterm birth, stunted postnatal growth, and impaired cognitive development. This challenge joins the All Children Thriving platform, which links Grand Challenges programs targeting healthy birth, growth, and development, including the global programs Saving Brains and Saving Lives at Birth and programs launched through Grand Challenges Brazil and Grand Challenges India.

Grants will go to investigators in low- and middle-income countries, but we encourage partnerships with investigators in other countries, especially where the opportunity exists to build on existing collaborations. In parallel with this global request for proposals, there are three country-specific versions:

• Brazilian investigators are asked to apply through Grand Challenges Brazil: All Children Thriving and to see the Brazil-specific version of the request for proposals.
• Indian investigators are asked to apply through Grand Challenges India: All Children Thriving and to see the India-specific version of the request for proposals.
• South African investigators are asked to apply through Grand Challenges South Africa: All Children Thriving and to see the South Africa-specific version of the request for proposals.
• Application deadline is January 13, 2015. For a detailed description of this challenge, see the Request for Proposals to the right, including translated versions.