Systems
The Gates Foundation fosters the institutions, knowledge, policies, relationships, skills, and tools needed to promote global health R&D in low- and middle-income countries.
Building an Enabling Environment
Many variables go into achieving an effective R&D ecosystem. These include human resources, technical capability, public- and private-sector support, collaboration platforms, and much more. The Gates Foundation works with partners in low- and middle-income countries on a range of projects to address immediate R&D-related priorities while also creating a thriving enabling environment in which locally led science and innovation can flourish.
From the Lab to the Bedside
For science and technology to make a difference in people's lives, projects need to make the journey from idea to lab experiment to product or policy to then scale in communities, with many stops in between. The journey is difficult under any circumstance, and it's even more difficult in many low- and middle-income countries where there tend to be more gaps in the R&D ecosystem. Investments in a healthy enabling environment are ultimately investments in innovation with impact.
Women and newborn babies are cared for at Ekwendeni Mission Hospital, in the Mzimba District, Malawi.
A Roadmap for Health R&D in Africa
The Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellows recently outlined actionable pathways to unlock Africa’s health research potential in a commentary in Nature Health. The Fellows recognize "the challenges we face as Africans in the current rapidly changing international funding environment underscores the importance of engaging in relevant actions to collectively shape a bright future for African R&D," identify six thematic areas where progress is possible and lay out specific priorities within each area.
