News

Welcome and Opening Remarks: Kedest Tesfagiorgis, Deputy Director, Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States.&nbsp;

Kedest Tesfagiorgis welcomes participants to the 18th Grand Challenges Annual Meeting and introduces the meeting's main focus: the importance of ongoing investment in innovation for all and how countries most affected by ongoing health challenges can drive the global health R&amp;D agenda. Here, she highlights the value of partnerships to support science as a tool for positive change, essential to improve and save lives.&nbsp;

Kedest Tesfagiorgis; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Welcome and Opening Remarks: Kedest Tesfagiorgis

Keynote Remarks: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization, Switzerland.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus discusses current key priorities for the World Health Organization and the global health community, including expanding health system infrastructure in low-and middle-income countries to mitigate healthcare accessibility inequities and sustaining an emergency response&nbsp;workforce to prepare for future global health crises. Crucially, innovation and R&amp;D must drive these&nbsp;global health advancements.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Keynote Remarks: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Panel Discussion: (The Impact of Humanitarian Crises on Global Health). Moderator: Paul Spiegel (Professor and Director, Center for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States). Panelists: Ann Burton (Chief, Public Health Section, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Switzerland); Jean Jacques Muyembe Tamfum (Director General, National Institute of Biomedical Research, Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Panelists discuss disease outbreaks and the secondary and tertiary health effects of humanitarian emergencies on global public health systems and individual communities. Panelists explore the factors that have made – and could make – innovations to mitigate these successful and equitably available, emphasizing how R&amp;D is critical to minimizing the effects of these destabilizing events.

Paul Spiegel, Ann Burton, Jean Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

The Impact of Humanitarian Crises on Global Health

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talks: (The Battle Against Viruses: No Time to Lose!). Johan Neyts, Head of the Laboratory of Virology, Antiviral Drug &amp; Vaccine Research, Rega Institute, University of Leuven, Belgium

Johan Neyts discusses the importance of R&amp;D to mitigate viral outbreaks. He explains how resource mobilization contributed to rapid and successful COVID-19 vaccine discovery, but certain viruses and future outbreaks may be harder to mitigate. The best way to prepare for these crises, then, is developing broader-acting antiviral drugs in times of peace. To illustrate this point, Neyts highlights programs in which the Belgian government currently invests to aid epidemic and pandemic preparedness.

Johan Neyts; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Johan Neyts

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Videos

Grand Challenges

Grand Challenges: Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Challenge Awards Announced

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023 to be held in Dakar, Senegal

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022 Held

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021 Held

Announcements

To support innovators in Africa, create an environment where African R&D thrives

Supporting locally led innovation in global health and development

Why we invest in innovation

Grand Challenges: Partnerships for Solving Today’s Problems and Tomorrow’s

Blog Posts

Mosquito factory: Why a lab is breeding 30 million mosquitoes a week

The next epidemic is coming. Here's how we can make sure we're ready

Why Our Foundation Takes On Grand Challenges

Why I Gave My Blood to Defeat Dengue

Grand Challenges-related posts from the blog of Bill Gates

Gates Notes (Grand Challenges)

Spotlight: Grand Challenges India

Grand Challenges Partners

Grand Challenges 2018

Grand Challenges - The First Ten Years

Historical narratives across the Grand Challenges family of initiatives

Video Retrospectives

Grand Challenges Global Call-to-Action

Fidele Ntie-Kang

Annettee Nakimuli

Yaw Bediako

Abdoulaye Djimde

Descriptions of the Fellows within the Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellowship

Calestous Juma Fellows

Grand Challenges Explorations

Banking Human Milk

Diagnosing Leaky Gut

Diagnosing Pneumonia

Eliminating Witchweed

Blog posts highlighting the first 10 years of Grand Challenges Explorations

Grand Challenges Explorations Retrospective (2008-2018)

Introduction (GCGH: 2005-2015)

Antigen Design (Hill)

Antigen Design (Kappe)

Biological Vector Control (Burt)

Book chapters highlighting the first 10 years of the original Grand Challenges initiative

Grand Challenges in Global Health Retrospective (2005-2015)

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk IV: Zoleka Ngcete

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk II: Moses Alobo

Tribute to Steve Buchsbaum

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting: Tribute to Steve Buchsbaum

Grand Challenges for Development

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk V: Claire Reid

Project Videos

 Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Challenge Highlights

Grand Challenges Initiatives Highlights - November 2022

Grand Challenges Explorations Round 25 and 26 Highlights

Grand Challenges Initiatives Highlights - December 2020

Project Photos

.css-1nxq281{overflow:hidden;display:inline-block;}.css-1nxq281 span{display:inline-block;}Great ideas come from everywhere.

Sign up for email updates of the latest grant opportunities and awards.

View the Grand Challenges partnership network

Great ideas come from everywhere.