Grand Challenges is a family of initiatives fostering innovation to solve key global health and development problems. Each initiative is an experiment in the use of challenges to focus innovation on making an impact. Individual challenges address some of the same problems, but from differing perspectives.

Challenges

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) launched a joint Grand Challenges program to call for international cooperation to develop innovative solutions for malaria vector control, focusing on outdoor vector control strategies, tools and products, with the goal of accelerating progress toward malaria eradication.

The program is part of the Grand Challenges China initiative co-established by NSFC and the BMGF in 2015 to fund research projects that contribute to safe, effective, affordable and scalable solutions to major global health and development challenges.

Malaria is a deadly yet preventable and treatable mosquito-borne disease affecting hundreds of millions of people annually. Despite progress made over the past two decades, malaria persists in over 85 low- and middle-income countries and communities. According to the 2021 World Malaria Report, there were an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627,000 deaths globally in 2020, with Africa bearing about 95 percent of the disease burden.

Vector control is an essential component of malaria prevention, with the scale-up of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) or long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), and expansion of indoor residual spraying (IRS) as key contributing factors. While the majority of malaria transmission occurs indoors, there are increasing concerns around the magnitude of outdoor transmission, where more investment in scientific and technological breakthroughs is much needed. With the joint call announced today, NSFC and the BMGF aim to promote international cooperation to identify and cultivate innovative strategies, techniques, products and tools that address specific challenges in outdoor malaria transmission.

China has abundant experience and expertise in eliminating malaria, and was declared malaria-free by the World Health Organization earlier this year. Through this funding program, NSFC encourages Chinese scientists to conduct research collaboratively with international organizations, and to contribute to the fight against malaria in countries that are still under its threat.

Malaria eradication is a top priority of the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. While continuing to expand the use of existing tools, the foundation is also committed to continuously developing and accelerating introduction of new tools and solutions that are essential to staying ahead of the malaria parasite and mosquito that transmits it and achieving the eradication goal.

As long-term, strategic partners, NSFC and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation co-launched this new program to harness the power of global collaboration to catalyze innovations for the benefit of those who continue to be most threatened by this preventable and treatable disease.

The joint program will fund up to six proposals on malaria vector control. Eligible projects must involve international collaborations between investigators in China-based and international institutions. Proposals will be assessed upon the potential for practical, affordable and scalable application in malaria endemic countries and regions. Each proposal, if selected, will be funded up to RMB3,000,000.

Grand Challenges China

Outdoor Malaria Vector Control

<h2>Background</h2>

The scale and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic have reiterated the need for access to and analysis of timely accurate health data to support the implementation of control measures and to guide health interventions and evidence-based practices. The supporting infrastructures and capacities through which researchers access and analyze these data, however, vary greatly. For several reasons, researchers in the Global South often are skeptical of broad calls for data sharing when they are left out of the analysis and results interpretation. Additionally, deploying “one-size-fits-all” analysis tools and governance processes across different regions from where they were created may produce poor analysis results and could even lead to misleading interpretations and conclusions when scientists analyze data without insight from the context in which it was collected.

As such, data science infrastructure and capacity needs to be proximally focused in the areas where the data emerge, to produce solutions that enable strong evidence-based practices to guide health interventions.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

Collecting, sharing, analyzing and interpreting health-related data are essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice as well as enabling advanced knowledge for heath emergency preparedness. Many data resources are not reusable if they have not been sufficiently documented and contextualized, or appropriately collected and licensed for use, particularly in cases where secondary analyses are planned that were not originally anticipated when the data were originally generated.

The desired outcome of this request for proposals is development of tools and processes that are "fit-for-purpose" to facilitate collaboration among researchers in low- and middle-income countries. This effort is focused on filling data science gaps and challenges whose solutions will address global health problems while fostering multi-disciplinary collaborations among researchers. We are specifically interested in funding proposals led by early and mid-career researchers. We expect each primary applicant to have a senior scientific advisor who would commit to provide scientific and technical guidance and mentorship to the team and facilitate connections with international networks as needed.

Specifically, the objectives of the challenge will be to:

<ul>
	<li>Develop and improve foundational tools, standards and protocols that enable data-centered health research, interventions, and health surveillance</li>
	<li>Improve access to curated and linked datasets for research and training purposes</li>
	<li>Enable South-South data-centered collaborations and build on and strengthen existing initiatives and ecosystems</li>
	<li>Enhance Data Science infrastructure, analysis capabilities and local leadership to address public health problems</li>
	<li>Foster innovation with health data in the interest of their respective local communities</li>
	<li>Bridge the gap between data-centered research and policy through collaborations and design of appropriate data science communication tools and channels</li>
	<li>Increase health data reliability and enable reuse by developing tools and processes to curate, standardize and aggregate data</li>
	<li>Improve data collection, sharing, governance, regulatory compliance, and analysis processes to enable data-centered public health research</li>
</ul>

What We Are Looking For

We will be developing a coordinated program in order to support these objectives. This will include cross-cutting cores which will provide specific functions to the program as well as individual research projects focusing on one of more specific disease areas.

Applications are invited from researchers working in healthcare, academia, industry, or research foundations, and will be welcomed from researchers based in any of the following regions: Africa, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Brazil. Each proposal should be submitted by one primary applicant, but the awards require the participation of at least two research institutions from the regions listed above and not both in the same country.

Program structure

<img alt="Strengthening Data Science Capacity and the Ecosystem Diagram" height="329" src="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/images/picture1.png" width="540" />

Data governance and standards core

We seek to fund one data governance and standards core. This core would:

<ul>
	<li>Support the research projects funded through this initiative including the capacity strengthening core</li>
	<li>Leverage the funded research projects as use cases for development and refinement of data sharing processes and governance</li>
	<li>Seek to strengthen global communities and multi-disciplinary collaboration from researchers in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) by developing processes to enable South-South collaborative analysis</li>
	<li>Develop adapted standards or Standard Operating Procedures that address data sharing issues including anonymization and perturbation protocols</li>
	<li>Develop re-usable tools, protocols, and standards to collect, clean, harmonize, and commonly structure individual data and meta-data related to one or many disease areas to increase health data reliability and enable reuse. New tools and process development should leverage and build on existing work</li>
	<li>Develop data informed processes to overcome barriers to the collection of complete and accurate information; and challenges related to data and information governance and data reuse</li>
</ul>

Capacity strengthening core

We seek to fund one capacity strengthening core to:

<ul>
	<li>Support the research projects and the data infrastructure and governing core funded through this initiative</li>
	<li>Bridge the gap between data scientists, modelers, regulators and policy makers, through trainings and best practices development</li>
	<li>Develop re-usable training materials and handbooks</li>
	<li>Lead and coordinate collaborative analysis efforts through different formats (workshops, hackathons, jamborees, etc.)</li>
	<li>Lead capacity-building efforts targeting existing gaps in data science trainings in LMICs and building on existing initiatives (reusing available resources when available to avoid duplication of efforts)</li>
	<li>Develop data-informed processes to overcome barriers to the collection of complete and accurate information, and challenges related to data and information governance and data reuse</li>
</ul>

Data re-use research projects

We seek to fund two data re-use projects where research will focus on one of more specific disease areas:

<ul>
	<li>Build data-driven public health platforms, tools and dashboards that guide policy making and public health interventions</li>
	<li>Identify, use, curate and link clearly defined datasets (administrative, clinical, environmental, etc.) to address policy gaps or deliver insights and conceptual and/or technological leaps on Global Health research priorities including:
	<ul>
		<li>Maternal, Newborn and Child Health</li>
		<li>Infectious diseases</li>
		<li>COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Proposals could focus on a specific disease area but need to demonstrate commitment to providing access to all research products including tools and processes developed</li>
</ul>

Funding level 

Successful proposals will receive an award of up to USD $250,000 with an 18- to 24-month grant duration. While proposals require the collaborative participation of at least two investigators at institutions in different countries based in any of the regions listed above, proposals should be submitted by one primary applicant/institution. While restricted to one application per institution as the primary applicant, researchers may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications.

Selected proposals will become part of a coordinated program aiming at Strengthening Data Science Capacity and the Ecosystem to Enable Data-Centered Public Health Interventions. We seek to build a network of researchers working together in close collaboration with the existing <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/JTdCJTIyc29ydCUyMiUzQSUyMmRlc2NlbmRpbmclMjIlMkMlMjJzb3J0RmllbGQlMjIlM0ElMjJkYXRlJTIyJTJDJTIybnVtYmVyUGVyUGFnZSUyMiUzQTEwMCUyQyUyMnBhZ2VOdW1iZXIlMjIlM0EwJTdE/JTdCJTIyeWVhcnMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJjaGFsbGVuZ2VzJTIyJTNBJTVCJTIyMTE3JTIyJTVEJTJDJTIydGVybXMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJpbml0aWF0aXZlcyUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCUyQyUyMmxvY2F0aW9ucyUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCU3RA==">Data Science Grand Challenges network</a> and its partners to build on lessons learned in different regions and further develop processes, tools and governance that maximize the impact of data-focused research studies, as well as to identify and address the global data-related challenges.

Successful proposals to be considered should: 

<ul>
	<li>Be driven by a shared commitment to open science, data sharing, and building collaboration and analysis infrastructure to enable discoveries that will benefit people everywhere</li>
	<li>Seek to strengthen global communities and multi-disciplinary collaboration from researchers in LMICs, and involve patients and the wider public</li>
	<li>Involve substantial collaboration between at least two research institutions in different countries encompassing Africa, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Brazil. The suggested collaboration should be key to advancing the project goals and yield insights that are unlikely in the absence of the co-produced approaches. In addition, however, applications could include collaborations with institutions in other geographical areas</li>
	<li>Have the potential to have impact on addressing public health issues within the proposed budget and timeframe of 18 -24 months</li>
	<li>Data re-use proposals should use well-defined datasets that directly address the core research questions and have a clear governance plan and demonstrate how the data could benefit the broader community at a later stage.</li>
	<li>Demonstrate a commitment to impact policies and the general public</li>
</ul>

We will not consider funding for: 

<ul>
	<li>Studies that aim to collect and generate new data through this funding</li>
	<li>Proposals led by institutions not based in any of these regions: Africa, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Brazil</li>
	<li>Proposals that will involve a single research institution or solely involve collaborators from multiple institutions from the same country</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not demonstrate a clear commitment to open science and making their findings, processes and/or tools developed accessible and reusable</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not demonstrate how they would leverage existing work and networks</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not demonstrate how they can benefit from and support other projects funded through this coordinated program</li>
	<li>Proposals that are not accomplishable within the grant term</li>
</ul>

Grand Challenges Global Call-to-Action

Strengthening Data Science Capacity and the Ecosystem: Enable Data-Centered Public Health Interventions

<h2>Background</h2>
The scale and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic have reiterated the need for access to and analysis of timely accurate health data to support the implementation of control measures and to guide health interventions and evidence-based practices. The supporting infrastructures and capacities through which researchers access and analyze these data, however, vary greatly. For several reasons, researchers in the Global South often are skeptical of broad calls for data sharing when they are left out of the analysis and results interpretation. Additionally, deploying “one-size-fits-all” analysis tools and governance processes across different regions from where they were created may produce poor analysis results and could even lead to misleading interpretations and conclusions when scientists analyze data without insight from the context in which it was collected.
As such, data science infrastructure and capacity needs to be proximally focused in the areas where the data emerge, to produce solutions that enable strong evidence-based practices to guide health interventions.
<h2>The Challenge</h2>
Collecting, sharing, analyzing and interpreting health-related data are essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice as well as enabling advanced knowledge for heath emergency preparedness. Many data resources are not reusable if they have not been sufficiently documented and contextualized, or appropriately collected and licensed for use, particularly in cases where secondary analyses are planned that were not originally anticipated when the data were originally generated.
The desired outcome of this request for proposals is development of tools and processes that are "fit-for-purpose" to facilitate collaboration among researchers in low- and middle-income countries. This effort is focused on filling data science gaps and challenges whose solutions will address global health problems while fostering multi-disciplinary collaborations among researchers. We are specifically interested in funding proposals led by early and mid-career researchers. We expect each primary applicant to have a senior scientific advisor who would commit to provide scientific and technical guidance and mentorship to the team and facilitate connections with international networks as needed.
Specifically, the objectives of the challenge will be to:
<ul><li>Develop and improve foundational tools, standards and protocols that enable data-centered health research, interventions, and health surveillance</li>
<li>Improve access to curated and linked datasets for research and training purposes</li>
<li>Enable South-South data-centered collaborations and build on and strengthen existing initiatives and ecosystems</li>
<li>Enhance Data Science infrastructure, analysis capabilities and local leadership to address public health problems</li>
<li>Foster innovation with health data in the interest of their respective local communities</li>
<li>Bridge the gap between data-centered research and policy through collaborations and design of appropriate data science communication tools and channels</li>
<li>Increase health data reliability and enable reuse by developing tools and processes to curate, standardize and aggregate data</li>
<li>Improve data collection, sharing, governance, regulatory compliance, and analysis processes to enable data-centered public health research</li>
</ul>What We Are Looking For
We will be developing a coordinated program in order to support these objectives. This will include cross-cutting cores which will provide specific functions to the program as well as individual research projects focusing on one of more specific disease areas.
Applications are invited from researchers working in healthcare, academia, industry, or research foundations, and will be welcomed from researchers based in any of the following regions: Africa, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Brazil. Each proposal should be submitted by one primary applicant, but the awards require the participation of at least two research institutions from the regions listed above and not both in the same country.
Program structure
<img alt="Strengthening Data Science Capacity and the Ecosystem Diagram" height="329" src="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/images/picture1.png" width="540" />
Data governance and standards core
We seek to fund one data governance and standards core. This core would:
<ul><li>Support the research projects funded through this initiative including the capacity strengthening core</li>
<li>Leverage the funded research projects as use cases for development and refinement of data sharing processes and governance</li>
<li>Seek to strengthen global communities and multi-disciplinary collaboration from researchers in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) by developing processes to enable South-South collaborative analysis</li>
<li>Develop adapted standards or Standard Operating Procedures that address data sharing issues including anonymization and perturbation protocols</li>
<li>Develop re-usable tools, protocols, and standards to collect, clean, harmonize, and commonly structure individual data and meta-data related to one or many disease areas to increase health data reliability and enable reuse. New tools and process development should leverage and build on existing work</li>
<li>Develop data informed processes to overcome barriers to the collection of complete and accurate information; and challenges related to data and information governance and data reuse</li>
</ul>Capacity strengthening core
We seek to fund one capacity strengthening core to:
<ul><li>Support the research projects and the data infrastructure and governing core funded through this initiative</li>
<li>Bridge the gap between data scientists, modelers, regulators and policy makers, through trainings and best practices development</li>
<li>Develop re-usable training materials and handbooks</li>
<li>Lead and coordinate collaborative analysis efforts through different formats (workshops, hackathons, jamborees, etc.)</li>
<li>Lead capacity-building efforts targeting existing gaps in data science trainings in LMICs and building on existing initiatives (reusing available resources when available to avoid duplication of efforts)</li>
<li>Develop data-informed processes to overcome barriers to the collection of complete and accurate information, and challenges related to data and information governance and data reuse</li>
</ul>Data re-use research projects
We seek to fund two data re-use projects where research will focus on one of more specific disease areas:
<ul><li>Build data-driven public health platforms, tools and dashboards that guide policy making and public health interventions</li>
<li>Identify, use, curate and link clearly defined datasets (administrative, clinical, environmental, etc.) to address policy gaps or deliver insights and conceptual and/or technological leaps on Global Health research priorities including:
<ul><li>Maternal, Newborn and Child Health</li>
<li>Infectious diseases</li>
<li>COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness</li>
</ul></li>
</ul><ul><li>Proposals could focus on a specific disease area but need to demonstrate commitment to providing access to all research products including tools and processes developed</li>
</ul>Funding level 
Successful proposals will receive an award of up to USD $250,000 with an 18- to 24-month grant duration. While proposals require the collaborative participation of at least two investigators at institutions in different countries based in any of the regions listed above, proposals should be submitted by one primary applicant/institution. While restricted to one application per institution as the primary applicant, researchers may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications.
Selected proposals will become part of a coordinated program aiming at Strengthening Data Science Capacity and the Ecosystem to Enable Data-Centered Public Health Interventions. We seek to build a network of researchers working together in close collaboration with the existing <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/JTdCJTIyc29ydCUyMiUzQSUyMmRlc2NlbmRpbmclMjIlMkMlMjJzb3J0RmllbGQlMjIlM0ElMjJkYXRlJTIyJTJDJTIybnVtYmVyUGVyUGFnZSUyMiUzQTEwMCUyQyUyMnBhZ2VOdW1iZXIlMjIlM0EwJTdE/JTdCJTIyeWVhcnMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJjaGFsbGVuZ2VzJTIyJTNBJTVCJTIyMTE3JTIyJTVEJTJDJTIydGVybXMlMjIlM0ElNUIlNUQlMkMlMjJpbml0aWF0aXZlcyUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCUyQyUyMmxvY2F0aW9ucyUyMiUzQSU1QiU1RCU3RA==">Data Science Grand Challenges network</a> and its partners to build on lessons learned in different regions and further develop processes, tools and governance that maximize the impact of data-focused research studies, as well as to identify and address the global data-related challenges.
Successful proposals to be considered should: 
<ul><li>Be driven by a shared commitment to open science, data sharing, and building collaboration and analysis infrastructure to enable discoveries that will benefit people everywhere</li>
<li>Seek to strengthen global communities and multi-disciplinary collaboration from researchers in LMICs, and involve patients and the wider public</li>
<li>Involve substantial collaboration between at least two research institutions in different countries encompassing Africa, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Brazil. The suggested collaboration should be key to advancing the project goals and yield insights that are unlikely in the absence of the co-produced approaches. In addition, however, applications could include collaborations with institutions in other geographical areas</li>
<li>Have the potential to have impact on addressing public health issues within the proposed budget and timeframe of 18 -24 months</li>
<li>Data re-use proposals should use well-defined datasets that directly address the core research questions and have a clear governance plan and demonstrate how the data could benefit the broader community at a later stage.</li>
<li>Demonstrate a commitment to impact policies and the general public</li>
</ul>We will not consider funding for: 
<ul><li>Studies that aim to collect and generate new data through this funding</li>
<li>Proposals led by institutions not based in any of these regions: Africa, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Brazil</li>
<li>Proposals that will involve a single research institution or solely involve collaborators from multiple institutions from the same country</li>
<li>Proposals that do not demonstrate a clear commitment to open science and making their findings, processes and/or tools developed accessible and reusable</li>
<li>Proposals that do not demonstrate how they would leverage existing work and networks</li>
<li>Proposals that do not demonstrate how they can benefit from and support other projects funded through this coordinated program</li>
<li>Proposals that are not accomplishable within the grant term</li>
</ul>

The scale and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic have reiterated the need for access to and analysis of timely accurate health data to support the implementation of control measures and to guide health interventions and evidence-based practices. The supporting infrastructures and capacities through which researchers access and analyze these data, however, vary greatly. For several reasons, researchers in the Global South often are skeptical of broad calls for data sharing when they are left out of the analysis and results interpretation.

Strengthening Data Science Capacity and the Ecosystem: Enabling Data-Centered Public Health Interventions

Strengthening Data Science Capacity and the Ecosystem Enable Data-Centered Public Health Interventions

**NOTE: This opportunity was open only to participants who registered for and attended the 2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).

<h2>THE OPPORTUNITY</h2>

The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting fosters innovation and international collaboration to address the biggest challenges in global health and development. It has been held in <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/annual-meeting" target="_blank">11 countries</a> over the past 16 years and in a virtual format this year and last. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the challenges and opportunities ahead with new clarity. The 2021 Annual Meeting will be dedicated to a "new normal" for global health, one in which the lessons from the COVID-19 response inform best practices for a healthier, more equitable future. Our goal is to support a global community of problem solvers who work together to set an innovation agenda and do the breakthrough science to deliver on it – to go further and faster together.

<h2>THE CHALLENGE</h2>

This Call-to-Action provides an opportunity for Grand Challenges Annual Meeting participants to take action based on ideas they developed and people they met at the meeting. As noted by past applicants in their submitted proposals, the meeting provides diverse ways to combine expertise and perspectives to speed the impact of what would otherwise be separate work by individual investigators. The <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/eyJzb3J0IjoiZGVzY2VuZGluZyIsInNvcnRGaWVsZCI6ImRhdGUiLCJudW1iZXJQZXJQYWdlIjoxMDAsInBhZ2VOdW1iZXIiOjB9/eyJ5ZWFycyI6W10sImNoYWxsZW5nZXMiOlsiMTI5Il0sInRlcm1zIjpbXSwiaW5pdGlhdGl2ZXMiOltdLCJsb2NhdGlvbnMiOltdfQ==" target="_blank">grants awarded</a> for the 2018-2020 Call-to-Action show this. And we hope that interactive elements at this year’s virtual meeting will still provide ways to catalyze collaborative projects that will yield a tangible solution to a key problem by the end of the grant.

Please note that besides this Call-to-Action request for proposals open to meeting participants, there are also public <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank">grant opportunities</a> being launched at the meeting.

Funding

Each meeting participant will have one opportunity to apply as the primary applicant for a USD $100,000 grant or a collaborative USD $200,000 grant, both with an 18-month grant duration. Collaborative awards require the participation of at least two meeting participants from different institutions. While restricted to one application as the primary applicant, meeting participants may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications. Priority will be given to new or newly expanded collaborations, rather than to existing partners seeking new funding.

We will give highest priority to proposed projects that:

<ul>
	<li>Contribute to a partnership network that engages the world's most creative minds and empowers those with the local perspective required to direct the right approaches to the right parts of the problems to ensure success. We will therefore prioritize grants to investigators from low- and middle-income countries and a balanced representation of women principal investigators. Their collective action and directed energy will help solve today's key problems in global health, while building a mechanism ready to solve tomorrow's</li>
	<li>Are likely to yield a tangible answer to a question or solution to a problem within the grant term under the near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
	<li>Are explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific track sessions. Please note that individual proposals will be reviewed based on their alignment with one primary track and the content presented there. Eligible scientific tracks for this Call-to-Action are listed below, and they include the entire Keystone Symposia Global Health Series conference that overlaps with the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.</li>
</ul>

Scientific tracks eligible for the Call-to-Action

<ul>
	<li>Acceleration of Global Health Product Development – Highlighting tools and partnership strategies to progress programs from preclinical development through proof-of-concept and into registration studies to accelerate global health efforts, including for TB, malaria, and Covid-19 drug and vaccine development</li>
	<li>Applying a Translational Lens to Global Health – Exploring tools for nimble translation of information produced by cellular and animal models to human disease and back again to inform design of global health interventions, including their use in Covid-19, human organoid models, and reproductive health</li>
	<li>Global Health Discovery Collaboratory: Novel Tools and Technologies – Empowering the discovery and translation of innovative ideas into global health interventions by addressing constraints around access to best-in-class technologies and barriers to cross-institutional collaboration</li>
	<li>Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges – Supporting local innovators solving local problems, helping build a critical mass of innovation champions linked through a global network to collectively address the most pressing global health and development challenges</li>
	<li>Global Priorities in Reproductive Health Technologies – Bringing together researchers and product developers to address data gaps and unmet needs for women in low-resource settings in preventing and treating sexually transmitted infections, developing novel nonhormonal contraceptives, developing new and affordable menstrual health products, and promoting a healthy vaginal microbiome</li>
	<li>Harnessing the Power of Data in Health – Highlighting exemplar data-centered projects guiding health interventions and evidence-based practices across different geographies, contributing to reducing health inequities and aiding in the prevention of future pandemics</li>
	<li>How the Current Pandemic Will Reshape Global Health Priorities – Focusing on mRNA and its rapid deployment during the pandemic through clinical proof of concept and licensure, adjuvants and how the industry leveraged clinically de-risked immunomodulators to expedite entry of novel vaccines into the clinic, nanoparticle delivery to enhance immunity, and small footprint and regional manufacturing as a future strategy to ensure equitable access to vaccines through in-country manufacturing and deployment</li>
	<li>Iron Innovation in Fortification to Address Iron Deficiency and Anemia – Exploring innovations that improve the bioavailability of iron in fortified foods, while ensuring an acceptable sensory and cost profile for vulnerable populations. Collaborations between academia, start-ups, NGOs and private sector companies encouraged</li>
	<li>Leveraging Pathogen Genomic Sequencing – Exploring how to build genomic surveillance into an integrated surveillance system, innovative approaches to environmental surveillance, and real-world examples of how to leverage integrated bioinformatics tools and guidelines from the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE) to support public health in Africa and Asia</li>
	<li>Optimizing Drug Discovery &amp; Translation – Highlighting some of the innovations and challenges in drug discovery and translational research in global health using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and how AI/ML interfaces across multiple disciplines</li>
	<li>Global Priorities in Vaginal Health: Microbes, Mucosal Immunity and Interventions (Keystone Symposia) – Examining cutting-edge knowledge needed to tackle some of the most challenging global problems in reproductive and sexual health, including current understanding of female genital tract microbiology and immunology, and advances in therapeutics and preventatives intended to modify or protect these environments</li>
</ul>

We will not consider funding approaches that:

<ul>
	<li>Are not explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific tracks eligible for this request for proposals that are listed above (noting that the Scaling Programs Through Inclusive Innovation track is not part of this particular request for proposals)</li>
	<li>Are not accomplishable within the grant term under the current and likely near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
</ul>

Grand Challenges

2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).
<h2>THE OPPORTUNITY</h2>
The Grand Challenges Annual Meeting fosters innovation and international collaboration to address the biggest challenges in global health and development. It has been held in <a href="https://grandchallenges.org/annual-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">11 countries</a> over the past 16 years and in a virtual format this year and last. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the challenges and opportunities ahead with new clarity. The 2021 Annual Meeting will be dedicated to a "new normal" for global health, one in which the lessons from the COVID-19 response inform best practices for a healthier, more equitable future. Our goal is to support a global community of problem solvers who work together to set an innovation agenda and do the breakthrough science to deliver on it – to go further and faster together.
<h2>THE CHALLENGE</h2>
This Call-to-Action provides an opportunity for Grand Challenges Annual Meeting participants to take action based on ideas they developed and people they met at the meeting. As noted by past applicants in their submitted proposals, the meeting provides diverse ways to combine expertise and perspectives to speed the impact of what would otherwise be separate work by individual investigators. The <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grants/eyJzb3J0IjoiZGVzY2VuZGluZyIsInNvcnRGaWVsZCI6ImRhdGUiLCJudW1iZXJQZXJQYWdlIjoxMDAsInBhZ2VOdW1iZXIiOjB9/eyJ5ZWFycyI6W10sImNoYWxsZW5nZXMiOlsiMTI5Il0sInRlcm1zIjpbXSwiaW5pdGlhdGl2ZXMiOltdLCJsb2NhdGlvbnMiOltdfQ==" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grants awarded</a> for the 2018-2020 Call-to-Action show this. And we hope that interactive elements at this year’s virtual meeting will still provide ways to catalyze collaborative projects that will yield a tangible solution to a key problem by the end of the grant.
Please note that besides this Call-to-Action request for proposals open to meeting participants, there are also public <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/grant-opportunities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grant opportunities</a> being launched at the meeting.
Funding
Each meeting participant will have one opportunity to apply as the primary applicant for a USD $100,000 grant or a collaborative USD $200,000 grant, both with an 18-month grant duration. Collaborative awards require the participation of at least two meeting participants from different institutions. While restricted to one application as the primary applicant, meeting participants may participate as collaborators in multiple collaborative applications. Priority will be given to new or newly expanded collaborations, rather than to existing partners seeking new funding.
We will give highest priority to proposed projects that:
<ul><li>Contribute to a partnership network that engages the world's most creative minds and empowers those with the local perspective required to direct the right approaches to the right parts of the problems to ensure success. We will therefore prioritize grants to investigators from low- and middle-income countries and a balanced representation of women principal investigators. Their collective action and directed energy will help solve today's key problems in global health, while building a mechanism ready to solve tomorrow's</li>
<li>Are likely to yield a tangible answer to a question or solution to a problem within the grant term under the near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
<li>Are explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific track sessions. Please note that individual proposals will be reviewed based on their alignment with one primary track and the content presented there. Eligible scientific tracks for this Call-to-Action are listed below, and they include the entire Keystone Symposia Global Health Series conference that overlaps with the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.</li>
</ul>Scientific tracks eligible for the Call-to-Action
<ul><li>Acceleration of Global Health Product Development – Highlighting tools and partnership strategies to progress programs from preclinical development through proof-of-concept and into registration studies to accelerate global health efforts, including for TB, malaria, and Covid-19 drug and vaccine development</li>
<li>Applying a Translational Lens to Global Health – Exploring tools for nimble translation of information produced by cellular and animal models to human disease and back again to inform design of global health interventions, including their use in Covid-19, human organoid models, and reproductive health</li>
<li>Global Health Discovery Collaboratory: Novel Tools and Technologies – Empowering the discovery and translation of innovative ideas into global health interventions by addressing constraints around access to best-in-class technologies and barriers to cross-institutional collaboration</li>
<li>Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges – Supporting local innovators solving local problems, helping build a critical mass of innovation champions linked through a global network to collectively address the most pressing global health and development challenges</li>
<li>Global Priorities in Reproductive Health Technologies – Bringing together researchers and product developers to address data gaps and unmet needs for women in low-resource settings in preventing and treating sexually transmitted infections, developing novel nonhormonal contraceptives, developing new and affordable menstrual health products, and promoting a healthy vaginal microbiome</li>
<li>Harnessing the Power of Data in Health – Highlighting exemplar data-centered projects guiding health interventions and evidence-based practices across different geographies, contributing to reducing health inequities and aiding in the prevention of future pandemics</li>
<li>How the Current Pandemic Will Reshape Global Health Priorities – Focusing on mRNA and its rapid deployment during the pandemic through clinical proof of concept and licensure, adjuvants and how the industry leveraged clinically de-risked immunomodulators to expedite entry of novel vaccines into the clinic, nanoparticle delivery to enhance immunity, and small footprint and regional manufacturing as a future strategy to ensure equitable access to vaccines through in-country manufacturing and deployment</li>
<li>Iron Innovation in Fortification to Address Iron Deficiency and Anemia – Exploring innovations that improve the bioavailability of iron in fortified foods, while ensuring an acceptable sensory and cost profile for vulnerable populations. Collaborations between academia, start-ups, NGOs and private sector companies encouraged</li>
<li>Leveraging Pathogen Genomic Sequencing – Exploring how to build genomic surveillance into an integrated surveillance system, innovative approaches to environmental surveillance, and real-world examples of how to leverage integrated bioinformatics tools and guidelines from the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE) to support public health in Africa and Asia</li>
<li>Optimizing Drug Discovery &amp; Translation – Highlighting some of the innovations and challenges in drug discovery and translational research in global health using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and how AI/ML interfaces across multiple disciplines</li>
<li>Global Priorities in Vaginal Health: Microbes, Mucosal Immunity and Interventions (Keystone Symposia) – Examining cutting-edge knowledge needed to tackle some of the most challenging global problems in reproductive and sexual health, including current understanding of female genital tract microbiology and immunology, and advances in therapeutics and preventatives intended to modify or protect these environments</li>
</ul>We will not consider funding approaches that:
<ul><li>Are not explicitly aligned with the content within the meeting's scientific tracks eligible for this request for proposals that are listed above (noting that the Scaling Programs Through Inclusive Innovation track is not part of this particular request for proposals)</li>
<li>Are not accomplishable within the grant term under the current and likely near-term constraints associated with the COVID-19 pandemic</li>
</ul>

**NOTE: This opportunity is only open to participants who registered for and attended the 2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (virtual format).

<h2>Background</h2>

While mathematical modeling approaches have been used to understand malaria epidemiology and the potential impact of antimalarial interventions for some time, National Malaria Control Programs (NMCPs) across sub-Saharan Africa are showing a growing interest in working with modeling units to shape their National Strategic Plans and Global Fund applications, as well to evaluate the ongoing impact of control programs. Furthermore, R&amp;D partners in the malaria space are also increasingly working with modelers as part of the product development process, using quantitative insights to shape target product profiles, plan trials, and understand the market for a given product.

At present, many of the malaria modeling units contributing to these efforts are based in academic institutions in the Global North. At the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, we believe that having local modeling expertise embedded within or easily accessible to NMCPs will improve programs' uptake of modeling as a strategic planning and evaluation tool, ultimately leading to improved data-driven decision-making by NMCPs. However, for this vision to be realized, the malaria modeling ecosystem across sub-Saharan Africa needs to be strengthened.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

This RFP seeks innovative approaches to building a stronger malaria mathematical modeling ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa. We are looking for 1 to 3 years projects that will achieve one or more of the objectives below:

<ul>
	<li>Increasing the number of Ph.D.-trained mathematical modelers with malaria expertise based at sub-Saharan African institutions</li>
	<li>Improving NMCP's understanding of and engagement with modeling approaches as a tool that can support strategic planning and/or evaluation work</li>
	<li>Connecting malaria Product Development Partners (PDPs) with sub-Saharan African modelers</li>
	<li>Bringing together discrete modeling units across sub-Saharan Africa to share expertise</li>
	<li>Improving modelers' access to timely, high-quality data</li>
</ul>

Funding level: up to USD $1,000,000 per year for each project, with a grant term of 1 to 3 years depending on the scope of the project.

We are looking for proposals that:

<ul>
	<li>Are led by a PI based in sub-Saharan Africa (other global partners may be included). Teams comprising multiple African institutions will be given preference over applicants from single institutions</li>
	<li>Demonstrate at least 80% of the funding is going to sub-Saharan African institutions</li>
	<li>Focus on improving geospatial and/or mathematical modeling capacity for malaria (other related diseases may be included; for example, modelers may also work on vector-borne neglected tropical diseases)</li>
	<li>Articulate how the project will lead to impact in the near-term and how those benefits will be sustained past the lifetime of the project</li>
	<li>Demonstrate engagement with local and/or regional malaria decision-makers</li>
</ul>

We will not fund proposals that:

<ul>
	<li>Do not demonstrate that the majority of the work proposed will be undertaken by African scientists at African institutions</li>
	<li>Do not demonstrate a pathway to sustainable impact</li>
	<li>Do not engage local and/or regional malaria decision-makers</li>
	<li>Do not focus on expanding geospatial or mathematical modeling capacity</li>
</ul>

Building Malaria Modeling Capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa

<h2>Background</h2>
While mathematical modeling approaches have been used to understand malaria epidemiology and the potential impact of antimalarial interventions for some time, National Malaria Control Programs (NMCPs) across sub-Saharan Africa are showing a growing interest in working with modeling units to shape their National Strategic Plans and Global Fund applications, as well to evaluate the ongoing impact of control programs. Furthermore, R&amp;D partners in the malaria space are also increasingly working with modelers as part of the product development process, using quantitative insights to shape target product profiles, plan trials, and understand the market for a given product.
At present, many of the malaria modeling units contributing to these efforts are based in academic institutions in the Global North. At the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, we believe that having local modeling expertise embedded within or easily accessible to NMCPs will improve programs' uptake of modeling as a strategic planning and evaluation tool, ultimately leading to improved data-driven decision-making by NMCPs. However, for this vision to be realized, the malaria modeling ecosystem across sub-Saharan Africa needs to be strengthened.
<h2>The Challenge</h2>
This RFP seeks innovative approaches to building a stronger malaria mathematical modeling ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa. We are looking for 1 to 3 years projects that will achieve one or more of the objectives below:
<ul><li>Increasing the number of Ph.D.-trained mathematical modelers with malaria expertise based at sub-Saharan African institutions</li>
<li>Improving NMCP's understanding of and engagement with modeling approaches as a tool that can support strategic planning and/or evaluation work</li>
<li>Connecting malaria Product Development Partners (PDPs) with sub-Saharan African modelers</li>
<li>Bringing together discrete modeling units across sub-Saharan Africa to share expertise</li>
<li>Improving modelers' access to timely, high-quality data</li>
</ul>Funding level: up to USD $1,000,000 per year for each project, with a grant term of 1 to 3 years depending on the scope of the project.
We are looking for proposals that:
<ul><li>Are led by a PI based in sub-Saharan Africa (other global partners may be included). Teams comprising multiple African institutions will be given preference over applicants from single institutions</li>
<li>Demonstrate at least 80% of the funding is going to sub-Saharan African institutions</li>
<li>Focus on improving geospatial and/or mathematical modeling capacity for malaria (other related diseases may be included; for example, modelers may also work on vector-borne neglected tropical diseases)</li>
<li>Articulate how the project will lead to impact in the near-term and how those benefits will be sustained past the lifetime of the project</li>
<li>Demonstrate engagement with local and/or regional malaria decision-makers</li>
</ul>We will not fund proposals that:
<ul><li>Do not demonstrate that the majority of the work proposed will be undertaken by African scientists at African institutions</li>
<li>Do not demonstrate a pathway to sustainable impact</li>
<li>Do not engage local and/or regional malaria decision-makers</li>
<li>Do not focus on expanding geospatial or mathematical modeling capacity</li>
</ul>

While mathematical modeling approaches have been used to understand malaria epidemiology and the potential impact of antimalarial interventions for some time, National Malaria Control Programs (NMCPs) across sub-Saharan Africa are showing a growing interest in working with modeling units to shape their National Strategic Plans and Global Fund applications, as well to evaluate the ongoing impact of control programs. This RFP seeks innovative approaches to building a stronger malaria mathematical modeling ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa.

<h2>Background</h2>

Digital health is revolutionizing the landscape of global healthcare. Solutions such as telemedicine, electronic medical records, and digitally enabled devices help to provide accessible, high-quality care around the world. These services have the potential to be especially impactful in low-income areas where care provided by highly trained individuals is not as common. Digital health can empower individual patients by enabling them to manage their own healthcare journeys. It can also drive systemic change through affordable, wide-reaching services that reduce the strain on healthcare professionals and facilities in low-resource settings.

The Maternal, Newborn &amp; Child Health Discovery &amp; Tools team believes that the ability to leverage digital health systems can enhance care and reduce adverse birth outcomes in low-and-middle income countries. One area of focus is the stratification of pregnancy risk to ensure that patients are put on the appropriate care pathway. This can enable tertiary facilities to focus their constrained resources on high-risk pregnancies, while low-risk pregnancies are managed at lower levels of care. Antenatal Risk Stratification (ARS) is a portfolio of devices and data that predicts a pregnant woman’s risk of experiencing adverse birth outcomes in early pregnancy. Building and implementing an ARS solution requires three key steps. 1) Collect data on pregnant women (e.g., patient history, clinical data, and diagnostic results with an emphasis on ultrasound and hemoglobin assessment). 2) Use data as inputs in a robust, AI decision model that accurately predicts a pregnant woman’s risk of adverse birth outcomes. 3) Support clinical decision making by using the predicted risk to pre-emptively triage patients across different levels of the healthcare system. Through this process, ARS would enable more efficient resource allocation by sending the riskiest patients to high-level facilities, while referring low-risk patients to community or public health centers. ARS would aim to improve the quality of care for pregnant women by ensuring that they can receive the right level of care.

Developing and delivering an ARS solution will require a robust digital backbone including tools for data collection, automated analytics, and platforms that connect to patients and healthcare providers. Before ARS can be successfully implemented, a landscape of digital health devices, partners, and services must be put into place.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

We seek patient-facing digital health services for pregnant women that have been developed and are actively being provided in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We will consider proposals for services that can support or contribute to our ARS vision via digital applications. Types of services that we would consider include:

<ul>
	<li>Engagement: Services that increase the participation of pregnant women in digital healthcare. (E.g., a platform to provide group antenatal care or a telemedicine platform that allows pregnant women to send medical questions to doctors by text)</li>
	<li>Adoption of existing platforms: Services that leverage existing digital systems/platforms to support pregnant women (e.g., contacting patients about care or scheduling using an existing messaging app like WhatsApp)</li>
	<li>Data collection: Services that collect data from pregnant women that could support clinical care. (E.g., a mobile app that allows pregnant women to track their pregnancy through metrics such as weight and fetal movement)</li>
	<li>Algorithm development: Services that use data from pregnant women to assess or make predictions about their health (e.g., a web-based tool where pregnant women can input information to receive an automatic assessment on whether or not they should see a doctor)</li>
</ul>

We seek projects that will help us develop and deliver an ARS solution in sub-Saharan Africa. Proposals should endeavor to build upon existing solutions to help support ARS. Potential options include (but are not limited to):

<ul>
	<li>Researching implementation methods for a solution (e.g., conducting market research for an existing app that supports one or more of the objectives outlined above)</li>
	<li>Expanding the scope of a solution (e.g., translating a web-based app to mobile platforms to increase engagement)</li>
	<li>Adding features/functionality to a solution (e.g., adding cloud-based data collection to a mobile app)</li>
	<li>Improving the delivery of a solution (e.g., integrating a mobile app into an existing clinical health system)</li>
</ul>

Funding level: up to USD $500,000 for each project, with a grant term of 6 to 24 months depending on the scope of the project.

We will consider solutions that are:

<ul>
	<li>Developed and/or actively supported in sub-Saharan Africa (note: development/active support does not include cases when groups outside of SSA are testing their solutions on users in SSA)</li>
	<li>Delivered in sub-Saharan Africa</li>
	<li>Providing pregnancy-related services</li>
	<li>Offered directly to pregnant women (i.e., patient-facing)</li>
	<li>Currently available for use and interested in expansion</li>
	<li>Serving a substantial and active user base in sub-Saharan Africa (e.g., more than ~100 users)</li>
	<li>Digitally integrated (i.e., have a strong, technical component) &nbsp;</li>
	<li>Clearly linked to the development and implementation of ARS</li>
	<li>Reaching women in both rural and urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa (note: this is a preference, not a requirement)</li>
</ul>

We will not consider solutions that are:

<ul>
	<li>Exclusively developed and maintained outside of sub-Saharan Africa</li>
	<li>Currently unavailable to pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa</li>
	<li>Unrelated to pregnancy</li>
	<li>Targeted primarily towards health-care providers (e.g., doctors or health centers)</li>
	<li>Still in a proof-of-concept state (e.g., an idea for an app that has not yet been developed)</li>
	<li>Still being beta tested (e.g., an app that is not being offered to the general public)</li>
	<li>Primarily analog (i.e., are not digital services)</li>
	<li>Unrelated to the development and implementation of ARS</li>
</ul>

Digital Health Services for Pregnant Women to Support Antenatal Risk Stratification in Sub-Saharan Africa

<h2>Background</h2>
Digital health is revolutionizing the landscape of global healthcare. Solutions such as telemedicine, electronic medical records, and digitally enabled devices help to provide accessible, high-quality care around the world. These services have the potential to be especially impactful in low-income areas where care provided by highly trained individuals is not as common. Digital health can empower individual patients by enabling them to manage their own healthcare journeys. It can also drive systemic change through affordable, wide-reaching services that reduce the strain on healthcare professionals and facilities in low-resource settings.
The Maternal, Newborn &amp; Child Health Discovery &amp; Tools team believes that the ability to leverage digital health systems can enhance care and reduce adverse birth outcomes in low-and-middle income countries. One area of focus is the stratification of pregnancy risk to ensure that patients are put on the appropriate care pathway. This can enable tertiary facilities to focus their constrained resources on high-risk pregnancies, while low-risk pregnancies are managed at lower levels of care. Antenatal Risk Stratification (ARS) is a portfolio of devices and data that predicts a pregnant woman’s risk of experiencing adverse birth outcomes in early pregnancy. Building and implementing an ARS solution requires three key steps. 1) Collect data on pregnant women (e.g., patient history, clinical data, and diagnostic results with an emphasis on ultrasound and hemoglobin assessment). 2) Use data as inputs in a robust, AI decision model that accurately predicts a pregnant woman’s risk of adverse birth outcomes. 3) Support clinical decision making by using the predicted risk to pre-emptively triage patients across different levels of the healthcare system. Through this process, ARS would enable more efficient resource allocation by sending the riskiest patients to high-level facilities, while referring low-risk patients to community or public health centers. ARS would aim to improve the quality of care for pregnant women by ensuring that they can receive the right level of care.
Developing and delivering an ARS solution will require a robust digital backbone including tools for data collection, automated analytics, and platforms that connect to patients and healthcare providers. Before ARS can be successfully implemented, a landscape of digital health devices, partners, and services must be put into place.
<h2>The Challenge</h2>
We seek patient-facing digital health services for pregnant women that have been developed and are actively being provided in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We will consider proposals for services that can support or contribute to our ARS vision via digital applications. Types of services that we would consider include:
<ul><li>Engagement: Services that increase the participation of pregnant women in digital healthcare. (E.g., a platform to provide group antenatal care or a telemedicine platform that allows pregnant women to send medical questions to doctors by text)</li>
<li>Adoption of existing platforms: Services that leverage existing digital systems/platforms to support pregnant women (e.g., contacting patients about care or scheduling using an existing messaging app like WhatsApp)</li>
<li>Data collection: Services that collect data from pregnant women that could support clinical care. (E.g., a mobile app that allows pregnant women to track their pregnancy through metrics such as weight and fetal movement)</li>
<li>Algorithm development: Services that use data from pregnant women to assess or make predictions about their health (e.g., a web-based tool where pregnant women can input information to receive an automatic assessment on whether or not they should see a doctor)</li>
</ul>We seek projects that will help us develop and deliver an ARS solution in sub-Saharan Africa. Proposals should endeavor to build upon existing solutions to help support ARS. Potential options include (but are not limited to):
<ul><li>Researching implementation methods for a solution (e.g., conducting market research for an existing app that supports one or more of the objectives outlined above)</li>
<li>Expanding the scope of a solution (e.g., translating a web-based app to mobile platforms to increase engagement)</li>
<li>Adding features/functionality to a solution (e.g., adding cloud-based data collection to a mobile app)</li>
<li>Improving the delivery of a solution (e.g., integrating a mobile app into an existing clinical health system)</li>
</ul>Funding level: up to USD $500,000 for each project, with a grant term of 6 to 24 months depending on the scope of the project.
We will consider solutions that are:
<ul><li>Developed and/or actively supported in sub-Saharan Africa (note: development/active support does not include cases when groups outside of SSA are testing their solutions on users in SSA)</li>
<li>Delivered in sub-Saharan Africa</li>
<li>Providing pregnancy-related services</li>
<li>Offered directly to pregnant women (i.e., patient-facing)</li>
<li>Currently available for use and interested in expansion</li>
<li>Serving a substantial and active user base in sub-Saharan Africa (e.g., more than ~100 users)</li>
<li>Digitally integrated (i.e., have a strong, technical component)  </li>
<li>Clearly linked to the development and implementation of ARS</li>
<li>Reaching women in both rural and urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa (note: this is a preference, not a requirement)</li>
</ul>We will not consider solutions that are:
<ul><li>Exclusively developed and maintained outside of sub-Saharan Africa</li>
<li>Currently unavailable to pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa</li>
<li>Unrelated to pregnancy</li>
<li>Targeted primarily towards health-care providers (e.g., doctors or health centers)</li>
<li>Still in a proof-of-concept state (e.g., an idea for an app that has not yet been developed)</li>
<li>Still being beta tested (e.g., an app that is not being offered to the general public)</li>
<li>Primarily analog (i.e., are not digital services)</li>
<li>Unrelated to the development and implementation of ARS</li>
</ul>

Digital health is revolutionizing the landscape of global healthcare. Solutions such as telemedicine, electronic medical records, and digitally enabled devices help to provide accessible, high-quality care around the world. We seek patient-facing digital health services for pregnant women that have been developed and are actively being provided in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We will consider proposals for services that can support or contribute to our ARS vision via digital applications.

<h2>Background</h2>

The elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is feasible but its progress is hindered by the suboptimal implementation of available interventions. Challenges faced by NTD programs can range from poor targeting of interventions, low treatment coverage among specific sub-groups, and lack of surveillance systems that can meet the sensitivity and specificity requirements for the endgame of disease elimination. These challenges could be addressed by the development of innovative solutions but also by the application of existing tools and technologies which are effectively used by other health programs, including polio, malaria and immunization. We see an opportunity to identify and demonstrate feasibility of innovative solutions and new applications of existing technologies to address the challenges faced by national NTD programs in mapping, targeting, disease and vector surveillance, and other endgame strategies.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

We have partnered with <a href="https://twitter.com/kikundi_cop" target="_blank">Kikundi</a>, a community of practice for NTD program managers in Africa, to identify areas for transformational innovation in service of national NTD programs. We invite proposals that will address one or more of the following areas:

<ul>
	<li>Methods to rapidly map NTDs, including integrated mapping</li>
	<li>Methods to better target existing interventions</li>
	<li>Strategies to target subgroups routinely missed by programs</li>
	<li>Approaches to vector surveillance</li>
	<li>Integrated surveillance that leverages other health surveillance platforms</li>
	<li>Strategies for post-elimination surveillance, including cross-border surveillance.</li>
</ul>

Funding level: up to USD $200,000 for each project, with a grant term of up to 18 months depending on the scope of the project.

We are looking for proposals that:

<ul>
	<li>Are led by institutions, which could be ministries of health, based in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia (other global partners may be included but at least 80% of funding should go to sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia)</li>
	<li>Demonstrate partnership with national NTD programs</li>
	<li>Propose innovations and applications that are scalable</li>
	<li>Have a plan for how the proposed solution would be tested or validated, and report its impact on NTD elimination goals and program efficiency</li>
</ul>

We will not consider proposals that:

<ul>
	<li>Do not include a lead investigator from an NTD-endemic country</li>
	<li>Do not consider explicit collaboration with endemic country governments, government NTD programs and/or partners</li>
	<li>Focus on current NTD intervention delivery or piloting of tools already used by NTD programs</li>
	<li>Do not outline a clear path forward to scale and sustainable impact</li>
</ul>

Innovations in Eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases

<h2>Background</h2>
The elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is feasible but its progress is hindered by the suboptimal implementation of available interventions. Challenges faced by NTD programs can range from poor targeting of interventions, low treatment coverage among specific sub-groups, and lack of surveillance systems that can meet the sensitivity and specificity requirements for the endgame of disease elimination. These challenges could be addressed by the development of innovative solutions but also by the application of existing tools and technologies which are effectively used by other health programs, including polio, malaria and immunization. We see an opportunity to identify and demonstrate feasibility of innovative solutions and new applications of existing technologies to address the challenges faced by national NTD programs in mapping, targeting, disease and vector surveillance, and other endgame strategies.
<h2>The Challenge</h2>
We have partnered with <a href="https://twitter.com/kikundi_cop" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kikundi</a>, a community of practice for NTD program managers in Africa, to identify areas for transformational innovation in service of national NTD programs. We invite proposals that will address one or more of the following areas:
<ul><li>Methods to rapidly map NTDs, including integrated mapping</li>
<li>Methods to better target existing interventions</li>
<li>Strategies to target subgroups routinely missed by programs</li>
<li>Approaches to vector surveillance</li>
<li>Integrated surveillance that leverages other health surveillance platforms</li>
<li>Strategies for post-elimination surveillance, including cross-border surveillance.</li>
</ul>Funding level: up to USD $200,000 for each project, with a grant term of up to 18 months depending on the scope of the project.
We are looking for proposals that:
<ul><li>Are led by institutions, which could be ministries of health, based in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia (other global partners may be included but at least 80% of funding should go to sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia)</li>
<li>Demonstrate partnership with national NTD programs</li>
<li>Propose innovations and applications that are scalable</li>
<li>Have a plan for how the proposed solution would be tested or validated, and report its impact on NTD elimination goals and program efficiency</li>
</ul>We will not consider proposals that:
<ul><li>Do not include a lead investigator from an NTD-endemic country</li>
<li>Do not consider explicit collaboration with endemic country governments, government NTD programs and/or partners</li>
<li>Focus on current NTD intervention delivery or piloting of tools already used by NTD programs</li>
<li>Do not outline a clear path forward to scale and sustainable impact</li>
</ul>

The elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) is feasible but its progress is hindered by a paucity of effective intervention tools, the suboptimal implementation of existing tools, or both. We see an opportunity to identify and demonstrate feasibility of new applications of cutting-edge technologies used by other disease areas to address the challenges faced by national NTD programs and accelerate the elimination of NTDs.

<h2>Background</h2>

Next generation sequencing (NGS) has proven to be indispensable in the current SARS-CoV2 pandemic, from pathogen discovery to variant characterization to novel vaccine development in record-time. This approach to using NGS underscores the potential value of this technology and its application to many other diseases from Ebola to cholera to Pathogen X. Building upon the success of previous Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (CZ Biohub) <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/application-metagenomic-next-generation-sequencing-detect-and-identify-pathogens-round-22" target="_blank">Grand Challenges collaborations</a>, this year's opportunity will continue to offer exceptional opportunities for capacity building, on-going mentorship and the foundations of scientific, collaborative networks to detect, identify, and characterize pathogens. The ultimate goal will be to impact infectious disease decision making and public health by empowering local scientists with gold standard knowledge, experience and access to equipment and software.

Through this Grand Challenge, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will jointly offer funding for 10 scientific groups to explore the identification, characterization, and context of infectious disease in LMIC settings.

<h2>The Opportunity</h2>

One of the overwhelming lessons learned from the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, has been the importance of being able to identify existing and emerging infectious diseases efficiently, in order to more effectively address and contain outbreaks, both locally and regionally. It has never been so important for clinicians and the global health community to have access to both accurate and timely estimates of disease burden and distribution. Traditionally, summaries of these data have been manually reported by national health ministries from regional clinical data, aggregated from local health centers. Local institutions, however, face multiple challenges to accurately assess the emerging needs of their community with current toolsets. For example, most clinical tests are based on common or easily detectable pathogens previously identified, which can miss occult and/or emerging pathogens. In addition, curation of large-scale pathogen data across multiple locations/platforms is time consuming and expensive, preventing facile integration of individual patient-level diagnostic data into a larger pathogen landscape on the regional and national level.

Over the last 18 months, we have seen how, when local institutions have the capacity – both at the hardware and software level - to detect emerging infections using pathogen sequencing technology, they are able to perform near-real-time data analysis that is rapidly translated into actionable public health decision making. At the heart of the ability to pivot to pathogen-specific sequencing during the pandemic, was the successful establishment of metagenomic sequencing platforms in low- and middle-resource settings, where there have traditionally been limitations in access or availability of the following essential components: a) equipment/reagents, b) specialized biochemical training, c) accurate reference pathogen sequence databases, and d) advanced computational analytics.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

Recognizing barriers for adoption of next-generation sequencing in global health, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to enable populations in low- and middle-resource settings to benefit from cutting-edge pathogen detection, discovery and characterization. This partnership will provide highly specialized training in biosample preparation and sequencing to technical staff from awardee global health centers. Trainees will learn to use the open-source, open-access <a href="http://www.idseq.net/" target="_blank">IDseq</a> software developed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) for the global health community to upload and analyze sequencing data, among other software such as Nextstrain. The BMGF-CZ Biohub-CZI partnership will therefore aim to provide selected applicants the benefits of onsite next generation sequencing and rapid pathogen detection to better understand their local pathogen landscape. We are also specifically seeking projects that endeavor to build upon their initial locally-focused effort to contribute to future data-informed decision-making at the population level via data sharing and pathogen data comparison across sites (multi-site studies will be prioritized).

This Grand Challenges (GC) award will support travel and accommodation of grantees to San Francisco for training at the CZ Biohub, and the following items: 1) <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/files/metagenomic_next_generation_sequencing_compatible_sequencers.pdf" target="_blank">a sequencer suitable for the global health environment</a><a href="#_bookmark1">[1]</a><a id="_bookmark0" name="_bookmark0"></a>, 2) a dedicated sequencing technician, and 3) sequencing reagents for the duration of the award. CZ Biohub and CZI training will include pilot analysis of samples from their home region during hands-on, intensive mentoring. This 2-week instructional period will include both biochemical sample preparation for sequencing and bioinformatic analysis using the IDseq software platform. Specifically, the hands-on training for bench scientists will include best practices and standards for sample processing, DNA &amp; RNA extraction, library preparation and data analysis on the global IDseq software platform. The combination of intensive training with molecular, capital equipment, reagent, and personnel support is intended to maximize the potential for sustainable, prospective, onsite analysis of patient samples upon return to the home site.

Molecular data generated at individual global sites is intended to be linked and automatically aggregated into IDseq for referencing by all participating clinics and associated sites. This method of local sequence analysis coupled with cross-site comparison could serve as a model for a process that would eventually lead to a network of pathogen detection nodes that could provide increased global transparency into regional pathogen distribution in an accurate and timely manner, and in ultimate support of a global pathogen surveillance network.

Examples of insights could include:

<ol>
	<li>Investigating infectious etiologies for unknown medical cases</li>
	<li>Identification of new pathogens</li>
	<li>Detection of local outbreaks</li>
	<li>Characterization of the local pathogen landscape, including vector-borne diseases</li>
	<li>Assessment of emerging zoonotic disease, including wildlife and domestic animal reservoir sampling</li>
	<li>Detection and classification of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Markers, with potential for insight into antibiotic treatment discordance</li>
	<li>Data-informed healthcare and resource allocation</li>
	<li>Subsequent follow-up leveraging genomic epidemiology for public health, incorporating local epidemiological data and genomic analysis</li>
</ol>

We are specifically looking for sites that believe in collaborative approaches and data sharing. Grantees will be expected to partner closely with scientists and engineers and provide feedback to help guide the cloud computing software’s development. Sites will also be expected to share data and collaborate with other labs in the network.

Funding level: up to USD $200,000 for each project, with a grant term of up to 24 months depending on the scope of the project.

We will consider sites that:

<ul>
	<li>Provide a clearly scoped initial project that demonstrates why this technology will provide insights that are not currently possible.</li>
	<li>Have space and capacity to run samples on a basic sequencer once provided with training, reagents, sequencer, and a dedicated computer. Have consistent access to electricity and the ability to upload data via the internet to a designated cloud server at least once a day.</li>
	<li>Are willing to give product feedback and collaborate with an engineering team through scheduled video calls, email, or other messaging service. Are committed to open science, preprints, and data sharing.</li>
	<li>Already have, or can rapidly acquire, necessary IRB approval for pathogen DNA and RNA sequence sharing from patients.</li>
	<li>Are representative of larger geographic regions</li>
</ul>

We will not consider sites that:

<ul>
	<li>Do not articulate how they will leverage the value of next generation sequencing to impact health outcomes.</li>
	<li>Are interested exclusively in Whole Genome Sequencing of human samples</li>
	<li>Do not plan to share their pathogen data and discoveries.</li>
	<li>Have extremely limited internet access.</li>
	<li>Are limited to previously stored samples, without substantial potential for prospective sample collection.</li>
</ul>

_____________________________________________

<a id="_bookmark1" name="_bookmark1"></a><a href="#_bookmark0">[1]</a> To ensure the sequencer continues to be used for purposes consistent with the foundation’s charitable objectives, we may request that funded applicants other than charities, universities, and similar organizations donate any sequencer purchased with grant funds to a charity or university, after the term of the project.

Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing to Detect, Identify, and Characterize Pathogens

<h2>Background</h2>
Next generation sequencing (NGS) has proven to be indispensable in the current SARS-CoV2 pandemic, from pathogen discovery to variant characterization to novel vaccine development in record-time. This approach to using NGS underscores the potential value of this technology and its application to many other diseases from Ebola to cholera to Pathogen X. Building upon the success of previous Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (CZ Biohub) <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/application-metagenomic-next-generation-sequencing-detect-and-identify-pathogens-round-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grand Challenges collaborations</a>, this year's opportunity will continue to offer exceptional opportunities for capacity building, on-going mentorship and the foundations of scientific, collaborative networks to detect, identify, and characterize pathogens. The ultimate goal will be to impact infectious disease decision making and public health by empowering local scientists with gold standard knowledge, experience and access to equipment and software.
Through this Grand Challenge, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will jointly offer funding for 10 scientific groups to explore the identification, characterization, and context of infectious disease in LMIC settings.
<h2>The Opportunity</h2>
One of the overwhelming lessons learned from the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, has been the importance of being able to identify existing and emerging infectious diseases efficiently, in order to more effectively address and contain outbreaks, both locally and regionally. It has never been so important for clinicians and the global health community to have access to both accurate and timely estimates of disease burden and distribution. Traditionally, summaries of these data have been manually reported by national health ministries from regional clinical data, aggregated from local health centers. Local institutions, however, face multiple challenges to accurately assess the emerging needs of their community with current toolsets. For example, most clinical tests are based on common or easily detectable pathogens previously identified, which can miss occult and/or emerging pathogens. In addition, curation of large-scale pathogen data across multiple locations/platforms is time consuming and expensive, preventing facile integration of individual patient-level diagnostic data into a larger pathogen landscape on the regional and national level.
Over the last 18 months, we have seen how, when local institutions have the capacity – both at the hardware and software level - to detect emerging infections using pathogen sequencing technology, they are able to perform near-real-time data analysis that is rapidly translated into actionable public health decision making. At the heart of the ability to pivot to pathogen-specific sequencing during the pandemic, was the successful establishment of metagenomic sequencing platforms in low- and middle-resource settings, where there have traditionally been limitations in access or availability of the following essential components: a) equipment/reagents, b) specialized biochemical training, c) accurate reference pathogen sequence databases, and d) advanced computational analytics.
<h2>The Challenge</h2>
Recognizing barriers for adoption of next-generation sequencing in global health, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to enable populations in low- and middle-resource settings to benefit from cutting-edge pathogen detection, discovery and characterization. This partnership will provide highly specialized training in biosample preparation and sequencing to technical staff from awardee global health centers. Trainees will learn to use the open-source, open-access <a href="http://www.idseq.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IDseq</a> software developed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) for the global health community to upload and analyze sequencing data, among other software such as Nextstrain. The BMGF-CZ Biohub-CZI partnership will therefore aim to provide selected applicants the benefits of onsite next generation sequencing and rapid pathogen detection to better understand their local pathogen landscape. We are also specifically seeking projects that endeavor to build upon their initial locally-focused effort to contribute to future data-informed decision-making at the population level via data sharing and pathogen data comparison across sites (multi-site studies will be prioritized).
This Grand Challenges (GC) award will support travel and accommodation of grantees to San Francisco for training at the CZ Biohub, and the following items: 1) <a href="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/files/metagenomic_next_generation_sequencing_compatible_sequencers.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a sequencer suitable for the global health environment</a><a href="#_bookmark1">[1]</a><a id="_bookmark0" name="_bookmark0"></a>, 2) a dedicated sequencing technician, and 3) sequencing reagents for the duration of the award. CZ Biohub and CZI training will include pilot analysis of samples from their home region during hands-on, intensive mentoring. This 2-week instructional period will include both biochemical sample preparation for sequencing and bioinformatic analysis using the IDseq software platform. Specifically, the hands-on training for bench scientists will include best practices and standards for sample processing, DNA &amp; RNA extraction, library preparation and data analysis on the global IDseq software platform. The combination of intensive training with molecular, capital equipment, reagent, and personnel support is intended to maximize the potential for sustainable, prospective, onsite analysis of patient samples upon return to the home site.
Molecular data generated at individual global sites is intended to be linked and automatically aggregated into IDseq for referencing by all participating clinics and associated sites. This method of local sequence analysis coupled with cross-site comparison could serve as a model for a process that would eventually lead to a network of pathogen detection nodes that could provide increased global transparency into regional pathogen distribution in an accurate and timely manner, and in ultimate support of a global pathogen surveillance network.
Examples of insights could include:
<ol><li>Investigating infectious etiologies for unknown medical cases</li>
<li>Identification of new pathogens</li>
<li>Detection of local outbreaks</li>
<li>Characterization of the local pathogen landscape, including vector-borne diseases</li>
<li>Assessment of emerging zoonotic disease, including wildlife and domestic animal reservoir sampling</li>
<li>Detection and classification of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Markers, with potential for insight into antibiotic treatment discordance</li>
<li>Data-informed healthcare and resource allocation</li>
<li>Subsequent follow-up leveraging genomic epidemiology for public health, incorporating local epidemiological data and genomic analysis</li>
</ol>We are specifically looking for sites that believe in collaborative approaches and data sharing. Grantees will be expected to partner closely with scientists and engineers and provide feedback to help guide the cloud computing software’s development. Sites will also be expected to share data and collaborate with other labs in the network.
Funding level: up to USD $200,000 for each project, with a grant term of up to 24 months depending on the scope of the project.
We will consider sites that:
<ul><li>Provide a clearly scoped initial project that demonstrates why this technology will provide insights that are not currently possible.</li>
<li>Have space and capacity to run samples on a basic sequencer once provided with training, reagents, sequencer, and a dedicated computer. Have consistent access to electricity and the ability to upload data via the internet to a designated cloud server at least once a day.</li>
<li>Are willing to give product feedback and collaborate with an engineering team through scheduled video calls, email, or other messaging service. Are committed to open science, preprints, and data sharing.</li>
<li>Already have, or can rapidly acquire, necessary IRB approval for pathogen DNA and RNA sequence sharing from patients.</li>
<li>Are representative of larger geographic regions</li>
</ul>We will not consider sites that:
<ul><li>Do not articulate how they will leverage the value of next generation sequencing to impact health outcomes.</li>
<li>Are interested exclusively in Whole Genome Sequencing of human samples</li>
<li>Do not plan to share their pathogen data and discoveries.</li>
<li>Have extremely limited internet access.</li>
<li>Are limited to previously stored samples, without substantial potential for prospective sample collection.</li>
</ul>_____________________________________________
<a id="_bookmark1" name="_bookmark1"></a><a href="#_bookmark0">[1]</a> To ensure the sequencer continues to be used for purposes consistent with the foundation’s charitable objectives, we may request that funded applicants other than charities, universities, and similar organizations donate any sequencer purchased with grant funds to a charity or university, after the term of the project.

Recognizing barriers for adoption of next-generation sequencing in global health, the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to enable populations in low- and middle-resource settings to benefit from cutting-edge pathogen detection, discovery and characterization. This partnership will provide highly specialized training in biosample preparation and sequencing to technical staff from awardee global health centers.

Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing to Detect Identify and Characterize Pathogens

<h2>The Opportunity</h2>

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses in disease surveillance in nearly all countries (<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01096-5/fulltext" target="_blank">Lancet commentary</a>). Early identification of COVID-19 cases and clusters for rapid containment was hampered by inadequate diagnostic capacity, insufficient contact tracing, fragmented data systems, incomplete data insights for public health responders and suboptimal governance of all these elements. Public health decision-making relies on real-time, accurate surveillance. As communities and economies struggle to recover from the consequences of these surveillance deficiencies, now is the time for countries and multilateral agencies to take a hard look at what failed and to act boldly to implement the necessary improvements to disease surveillance.

Future disease surveillance should comprise well-integrated national systems based on five principles. First, a strong surveillance foundation should monitor the population in a systematic, consistent and statistically sound way. Second, surveillance systems must incorporate laboratory confirmation appropriately scaled for different diseases and risks. Third, surveillance systems must be digitized, with unique health identifiers to connect individual-level data and with privacy safeguards. Fourth, surveillance programs must use standardized case definitions and common data elements, with appropriate access for the public, local and national health authorities, regional bodies and WHO. Fifth, disease surveillance must be adequately financed.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

The purpose of this call is to solicit proposals from National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs), or in- country equivalent institutions, for planning programs to strengthen the integration of disease surveillance systems that follows the five principles, as outlined above. Note that the funding associated with this opportunity will not be used for implementation, but the intent of this call is to develop robust plans such that the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation (BGMF) can identify opportunities for future in-country implementation activities that will potentially be funded at a later date. Preferred countries for proposals include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Uganda, or Pakistan.

Each proposal should tackle one or more of the following program areas:

<ul>
	<li>Building population-representative surveillance via sample registration or vital statistics systems</li>
	<li>Improving lab data digitization and interoperability</li>
	<li>Integrating vertical disease-specific surveillance outputs at the NPHI</li>
	<li>Strengthening existing surveillance tools and systems, rather than building new ones</li>
	<li>Developing ongoing serological surveillance for monitoring population immunity</li>
</ul>

Engagement of local expertise and understanding of the implementation context will be crucial for successful proposals. All proposals must be submitted either directly by a NPHI, or equivalent in-country entity, with the inclusion of a principal investigator or co-investigator from the institution. Proposals should clearly state how data generated from the proposed program/activity will be used to inform timely public health decision making by in-country stakeholders, as well as demonstrate the inclusion of one or more of the five principles for integrated disease surveillance systems.

What we are looking for:

<ul>
	<li>NPHIs, or in-country equivalent institutions, with interest and commitment to plan a more integrated and effective disease surveillance system suitable for the Covid-19 era</li>
	<li>Assessment or design of an existing integrated disease surveillance program area, followed by development of recommendations or added-value propositions for improvement activities with a robust, costed, action plan for future implementation</li>
	<li>Identification of in-country partners to support future implementation plans</li>
</ul>

All applications should:

<ul>
	<li>Describe the approach to developing the action plan
	<ul>
		<li>Describe proposed activities for assessment and/or redesign of program areas (activities at a high level only) and expected outcomes</li>
		<li>Outline what skills will be needed to design, support and implement the project will be incorporated</li>
		<li>Suggest important phasing, timeline and sequencing of activities</li>
		<li>Include a brief assessment of risks and challenges to successful implementation and how those will be mitigated</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>Explain the rationale for and potential benefits of conducting this type of planning exercise in their setting</li>
	<li>Address one or more of the five principles outlined in The Opportunity section above</li>
	<li>Describe how plans and recommendations arising from the project will be shared with the MOH and other key stakeholders</li>
</ul>

We will not consider funding for:

<ul>
	<li>Proposals that do not address one or more of the program areas as defined above</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not include an investigator from a NPHI or equivalent institution</li>
	<li>Proposals that do not include an explicit partnership with the MOH or other authority responsible for disease surveillance in the country / region</li>
</ul>

&nbsp;

NOTE: This opportunity was open to an invited set of investigators in ten countries.

Plan for Strengthening Integrated Disease Surveillance Systems

<h2>Overview</h2>

The emerging SARS-COV-2 variants of concern (VOC) demonstrate the urgent need for local scientific communities to have the capacity to rapidly detect and evaluate the immunological implications of new variants. The current VOC situation also provides the proving ground for such scientific collaborative infrastructure to inform and impact local and global equitable decision making around vaccines, herd immunity and therapeutics.

Global Immunology and Immune Sequencing for Epidemic Response (GIISER) is envisioned as a collection of geographically distinct sites that can pair their local pathogen sequencing surveillance and clinical epidemiology with local immunological understanding and tools. GIISER sites can connect via standard protocols, bioinformatics pipelines, data sharing guidelines and training opportunities to participate in coordinated international efforts to respond to emerging epidemic threats.

Importantly, the local immunological evaluation provided by GIISER extends to the rapid discovery of novel monoclonal antibodies that are critical tools for probing protein structure, detecting variant proteins, and identifying neutralizing epitopes for vaccine immunogen design. In addition, they may be developed as therapeutics for prevention or treatment of disease. Underlying all aspects of the work is the need for a global collaboration framework which includes rapid sharing of data and information with key international bodies (such as WHO, GISRS, and Africa CDC) and networks to inform an effective, equitable global pandemic response.

<h2>GIISER Project Goals</h2>

This specific effort aims to increase the in-country capacity for the rapid immunological evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern on the African continent. It builds off of the African Pathogen Genomics Institute (PGI) sequencing capabilities (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7434434/pdf/main.pdf" target="_blank">Tessema et al, Lancet Microbe Oct 2020),</a> local human subjects research (clinical epidemiology), and adds in local virology and immunology expertise to allow in-country scientists to rapidly evaluate new variants for immune escape and cross protection. This data is essential for understanding the impact of new variants on vaccines, diagnostic assays, therapeutics and natural immunity.

The near-term goals of the GIISER program are 1. Systematic production of data quantifying immune escape and cross protection for variants of local concern/interest and 2. Identification of monoclonal antibodies that specifically recognize and potentially neutralize variants of local concern/interest isolated from convalescent individuals with sequence-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections.

A successful GIISER site will leverage existing pathogen sequencing surveillance infrastructure to rapidly identify emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, obtain sera and blood cells from the appropriate infected individuals with appropriate informed consent, and perform detailed immunological characterization of sera/plasma (binding and neutralization assays), as well as single cell analytics for monoclonal antibody discovery. This information will be produced and communicated rapidly enough to inform public health decisions and policy makers within the local and international community. Many of these pieces already exist but are currently siloed. Some pieces need technological innovation to be rapid and effective.

Other pieces are nascent but training of local scientists by collaborators willing and able to share knowledge and tools will create the necessary capabilities.

A long-term goal is to establish a sustainable, local infrastructure that can be activated to respond to any new emerging pathogen locally and strengthen connections and collaborations between sites and with international decision-making bodies.

GIISER Scope of Work Outline (see <a href="#_bookmark2">Figure 1 </a><a name="_bookmark0"></a>below)

<ol>
	<li>Identify SARS-CoV-2 pathogen variants and appropriate subjects.
	<ol>
		<li>Ethics approvals and clinical protocols in place with appropriate consent forms that allow for use of the donor sample for all downstream R&amp;D which will support the connection of pathogen sequencing, longitudinal/contextual clinical data (including demographics and other relevant metadata) and subsequent immunological analysis. Build on capacity generated from prior initiatives (e.g., H3Africa human subjects research expertise and ethics frameworks)</li>
		<li>Pathogen sequencing and analytical infrastructure in place that meets international quality standards and shares sequence data publicly in a timely manner (via GISAID for example).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Sample Collection, Virus Isolation and B cell sorting
	<ol>
		<li>Laboratory capacity for virus sampling for sequencing and virus outgrowth (nasal swabs or other), including BSL3 capacity.</li>
		<li>Laboratory capacity for blood draws, including serum, plasma, PBMCs, B cell and/or plasmablast enrichment.</li>
		<li>Antigen specific B cell sorting via flow cytometry with tagged protein baits (generated locally or provided by collaborators).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Assessment of natural- and vaccine-induced polyclonal antibody immunity to novel variants
	<ol>
		<li>Quantitative assays measuring polyclonal antisera binding against both prior and novel VOC spike proteins (ELISA, MSD or other), calibrated against international standards or reference panels.</li>
		<li>Surrogate neutralization assays measuring inhibition of binding to ACE2 by polyclonal sera/plasma.</li>
		<li>Generation and use of VSV or lentivirus pseudoviruses containing novel spike protein sequences to quantitatively measure pseudovirus neutralization activity in sera/plasma, calibrated against international standards or reference panels.</li>
		<li>Implementation of live virus neutralization assays in BSL3 facilities to measure neutralization activity in polyclonal sera/plasma, calibrated against international standards or reference panels.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

<ol start="3">
	<li>
	<ol start="5">
		<li>Assessment of virus neutralizing activity in sera/plasma from prior infections with sequence- confirmed viral infections and vaccinated individuals to determine magnitude and breadth of natural and vaccine-induced cross neutralization.</li>
		<li>Coordinate with other GIISER sites, international networks (WHO, AfCDC, CEPI, etc.) to share high quality binding and neutralization results. Establish appropriate MTAs between sites to share materials.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Monoclonal Antibody Discovery: sequencing and repertoire analysis
	<ol>
		<li>Single cell immunoglobulin heavy and light chain sequencing from B cells enriched for binding to VoC spike proteins. This can be accomplished by any of a number of different technologies, including 10X, Seqwell, or others. Multiple specific baits and labels could be used for enrichment, targeting VOC specific mAbs (unique epitopes) or broadly neutralizing mAbs (conserved epitopes), or both.</li>
		<li>Proficiency in immunoglobulin sequence bioinformatics and clustering algorithms to assess somatic hypermutation, assign clonal lineages and evaluate Ab repertoire. Leverage opportunities such as those available via H3Bionet, Human Cell Atlas and GH-VAP to assist.</li>
		<li>Choose representative heavy + light chain pairs for subsequent expression and in vitro screening assays (See E).</li>
		<li>Engage with international antibody sequencing databases and consortia to share mAb repertoire information and sequences as appropriate, with future-use data sharing terms clearly outlined.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Monoclonal Antibody Discovery: Screening and functional evaluation
	<ol>
		<li>Small scale production of selected high quality mAbs from cDNA sequence.</li>
		<li>Systematic screening of mAbs for binding to a variety of spike proteins, including epitope mapping.</li>
		<li>Evaluation of neutralizing activity of selected mAbs against VOCs using the live virus and pseudovirus assays from step C above. Evaluate neutralization breadth and cross protection.</li>
		<li>Disseminate findings and engage with additional partners to share mAbs that have utility as either research tools or potential developability as therapeutics. Participate in international consortia such as COVIC when sufficient data supports such a move.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

Evaluation Metrics and Criteria

GIISER sites will be evaluated based on their ability to link together pathogen sequencing, clinical epidemiology, immunology and monoclonal antibody discovery to rapidly produce high-quality, interpretable and informative data on neutralization breadth and cross protection for locally identified SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. This includes, but is not limited to, outgrowth of variant SARS-CoV-2 virus in appropriate BLS3 containment labs for live virus neutralization assays. Examples of anticipated results: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03471-w" target="_blank">Cele et al Nature 2021, </a><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2104192?query=main_nav_lg" target="_blank">Moyo-Gwete et al NEJM 2021, </a><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2103740?query=main_nav_lg" target="_blank">Shen et al NEJM 2021 </a>and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01285-x">Wibmer et al</a> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01285-x" target="_blank">Nature Medicine 2021.</a>

A key rationale for this effort is rapid data generation to inform decision making, thus the speed at which high quality data can be disseminated is an important consideration in the design and execution of each program. Within the first year of a two year investment, a well-functioning GIISER site will be communicating results from the first round of steps A-C within 1-2 months of identifying a variant of local concern, and steps D and E within an additional 2-3 months.

At the end of a two-year investment, we expect that each GIISER site will have a monoclonal antibody discovery pipeline that can feed lead candidates into product development. Of particular interest is to provide a pipeline for regionally distributed small footprint manufacturing which could further reduce the cycle time between discovery and delivery to LMICs

Sites will also be evaluated on their ability to leverage existing local expertise, collaborate and share data effectively with other GIISER sites and international networks (<a href="#_bookmark3">Figure 2 </a><a name="_bookmark4"></a>)

Requirements

A successful GIISER sites will have access to existing pathogen sequencing capacity and bioinformatics, access to existing cohorts or clinical infrastructure, access to existing BLS3 labs and trained virologists and immunologists with some expertise in protein reagent generation, mAb discovery and/or single cell analytics/bioinformatics. Not every site will have everything in place, but enthusiastic, creative and collaborative groups who want to get things done are encouraged to include specific requests for the support they need to get there (training, connections, technology, etc.).

What we are not looking to fund

We are not looking to fund pathogen genomics surveillance, expansion of surveillance sequencing capacity, or establishment of new clinical cohorts. We expect these to already be in place via other funding and for GIISER to build productive collaborations with these existing programs. Studies focused on T cell immunity and characterizing the overall immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are out of scope.

<a name="_bookmark2"></a><a href="#_bookmark0">Figure 1: </a>

<img alt="Figure 1" height="483" src="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/images/figure-1.jpg" width="976" />

<a name="_bookmark3"></a><a href="#_bookmark4">Figure 2: </a>

<img alt="Figure 2" height="659" src="https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/sites/default/files/images/figure-2.jpg" width="1290" />

NOTE: This opportunity was open to an invited set of African investigators.

Global Immunology and Immune Sequencing for Epidemic Response (GIISER) Sites in Africa

<h2>Background</h2>

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges for Africa, with every country potentially at risk for unmitigated spread of SARS-CoV-2. Like most health systems in the world, there is a significant risk for current levels of care to be overwhelmed by sheer volume of patients requiring intensive care and ventilatory support. In addition, health care workers are at risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 and given limited infection control practices in many settings, there is also risk of nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among patients.

The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants is further raising concerns of the possibility of re-infection among those previously infected with the 'wild type' virus. A recent survey conducted by the African Academy of Sciences Scientific Priority setting initiative found that the most important questions that African scientists, health care workers and public health officials should study included the detailed epidemiology and transmission dynamics in African settings, as well as infection prevention and control for health care workers. These are questions that are widely applicable across the continent yet require local context and expertise to address in a timely and effective manner.

Pathogen genomic sequencing (PGS) has been increasingly used in wealthy countries to help respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases, from MDR bacteria to Ebola to Yellow Fever, Measles, and Polio. Already, PGS has been shown to be important in understanding the transmission dynamics and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in the US, Europe, and China. PGS has been used for outbreak size estimation based on phylodynamic analyses and to identify and characterize new variants.

The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants in multiple locations across the world, including in Africa, has highlighted the need for genomic sequencing in surveillance and epidemiology. PGS has enabled the identification of emergent strains and provided the ability to monitor their spread. Genomic data has allowed for characterization of mutations, providing insights into possible mechanistic changes and biological implications. These insights provide the first clue of potential impact on the effectiveness of therapeutics, such as monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines that may warrant further investigation. Furthermore, the ability for genomic sequencing to differentiate which SARS-CoV-2 variant someone has been infected with, makes PGS an important tool for aiding in the investigation of changes to transmissibility and impact on clinical outcomes of new variants.

Genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 can also help in effectively managing and controlling the epidemic in the continent by providing information to allow a precise identification of transmission clusters and of mutations of the virus. The information obtained can also help in tailoring new vaccine and/or treatment efforts within Africa by for example combining genetic, clinical, and epidemiological data.

Contrary to initial models and forecasts, the reported number of cases and mortality rates reflect a markedly less severe epidemiologic picture of COVID-19 in Africa. Consequently, SARS-CoV-2 sequencing (COVID-19 genomics) may also shed some light on the underlying factors possibly explaining these differences between Africa and those other parts of the world. It is important to note that human genomics will not be covered by this call. Furthermore, sequencing can help to monitor and characterize the changes to the genetic epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic after vaccine introduction. Unfortunately, PGS is not in widespread use in Africa. A rapid introduction of PGS in Africa will help in the fight to control SARS-CoV-2 and help prepare the continent for the next epidemic not yet identified.

Over the past three years, the Africa CDC has established expertise in PGS. In 2020 along with partners, Africa CDC launched the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative, which will include many activities to strengthen the capacity for and public health use of PGS in Africa. One such activity is the development of a continental laboratory network that will eventually have advanced sequencing capacity at national public health institutes across at least 20 African countries. Africa CDC has the mandate and vision to bring together African thought leaders in PGS in a coherent and sustainable peer network through the pan-continent Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative. The challenge will support the parallel development of a cadre of African scientists and public laboratories who can contribute substantively to this initiative.

<h2>The Challenge</h2>

Grand Challenges Africa, in partnership with the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) invites proposals that will primarily support public-health-use cases of PGS in African settings to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Grand Challenges Africa (GC Africa) is a program that seeks to promote Africa-led scientific innovations to help countries better achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by awarding seed and full grants to the continent's most impressive solutions and has covered topics such as Data Science Approaches to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Africa, Innovation for WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) in Urban Settings, &amp; Drug Discovery. Through this partnership, we seek to make awards that will support increased understanding of SARS-CoV-2 in Africa for use in public health decision making.

Specifically, the objectives of the challenge will be:

<ol>
	<li>Use of PGS to establish routine genomic surveillance and understand the epidemiology and transmission of SARS-CoV-2</li>
	<li>Use of PGS in public health field epidemiology response for SARS-CoV-2 to investigate new virus variants and their impact on the epidemiology of Covid-19</li>
	<li>Use of PGS to monitor the impact of vaccine introduction on the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in terms of transmission dynamics and/or incidence of virus variants.</li>
	<li>Use PGS to inform the development of diagnostics and/or therapeutics and/or monitor the impact of new product introduction.</li>
</ol>

Projects addressing more than one challenge (e.g. clinical and field epidemiology) are encouraged. In some geographies many of these challenges exist simultaneously, at different times for different populations; in other geographies only one or two of these challenges predominate. Applications should clearly state which of these challenges is being targeted and provide clear rationale for why the project is likely to address the challenge.

Applications should also state how the knowledge generated from their proposal would be produced in a timely manner in order to inform public health decision making. We expect that PGS data on SARS-CoV-2 will be shared immediately with local government health officials as well as uploaded to a standard repository for genetic data such as GISAID, NCBI or ENA, all in compliance with applicable data protection laws. Such sharing is important for the public health response locally but also globally.

Responding to the above challenges requires a multidisciplinary approach. Thus, collaborative work is highly encouraged.

What we are looking for:

We will highly preference funding for projects in national public health institutes or other public laboratories with links to the public health systems that focus on pathogen genomic sequencing.

All applications should:

<ul>
	<li>Describe how laboratory and staff can immediately put to use PGS technology at your site to respond to at least one of the challenges listed above.</li>
	<li>Describe how the data generated from your project will be used to inform public health decision making in your country and/or region in a timely manner. How will you communicate your findings and engage with stakeholders to ensure uptake and use of your findings for these public health purposes?</li>
	<li>Given the fast-moving nature of the research field into SARS-CoV-2, how will you ensure that the results that your work produces are timely, and the question being addressed is still relevant at the time when the results are available.</li>
	<li>Describe the sampling approach for obtaining specimens for genomic sequencing and how the sampling approach will be optimized to answer at least one of the challenges outlined above. In addition, describe how metadata and clinical, epidemiological or other data will be collected and combined with the PGS data to answer at least one of the challenges listed above.</li>
	<li>Articulate how the capacity built through the proposed project will strengthen your institute’s approach to using PGS for surveillance beyond the covid-19 pandemic.</li>
</ul>

A few of the many options we will consider include (but are not limited to) support for:

<ul>
	<li>Laboratory equipment, supplies and reagents needed for next generation pathogen genomic sequencing (PGS). Centers with Sanger sequencing capabilities can also apply.</li>
	<li>Field supplies for sample collection, transportation, storage and preparation.</li>
	<li>Collection of linked epidemiological data and meta-data.</li>
	<li>Laptop or computer with appropriate software for the analysis; high speed internet access and cloud compute time, if not provided through the Africa CDC lab network.</li>
	<li>Salary for personnel (including for example laboratory personnel, epidemiologist, field staff to collect samples).</li>
	<li>Training specific for PGS technology or bioinformatics, either online or in person.</li>
	<li>Travel to Africa CDC to support network development or to present findings at an international conference.</li>
	<li>Costs for high performance computing, where applicable.</li>
</ul>

We will not consider funding for projects that do not primarily respond to SARS-CoV-2 public health response. Human genomics will not be covered by this call.

NOTE: This opportunity was open to an invited set of African investigators.

Challenges

Outdoor Malaria Vector Control

Strengthening Data Science Capacity and the Ecosystem: Enabling Data-Centered Public Health Interventions

2021 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Call-to-Action

Building Malaria Modeling Capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Digital Health Services for Pregnant Women to Support Antenatal Risk Stratification in Sub-Saharan Africa

Innovations in Eliminating Neglected Tropical Diseases

Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing to Detect, Identify, and Characterize Pathogens

Plan for Strengthening Integrated Disease Surveillance Systems

Global Immunology and Immune Sequencing for Epidemic Response (GIISER) Sites in Africa

Covid-19 Pathogen Genomic Sequencing (PGS) in Africa

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