Grand Challenges Canada Explained

Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) is a Canadian nonprofit organization that employs a Grand Challenges model with the aim to fund solutions for health and economic problems in low-and middle-income countries and Canada.^{[1] [2] [3]}

GCC is funded primarily by the Government of Canada and hosted in the MaRS Discovery District^[4] by the University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario.^[5]

History

Grand Challenges Canada takes inspiration from the Grand Challenges in Global Health research initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.^{[6] [7]} GCC was founded in 2010 by Peter A. Singer and Dr. Abdallah Daar.^{[8] [9]}

The Canadian government committed C$225 million from the 2008 Canadian federal budget over five years to support the creation of GCC with the aim of addressing global health problems in low-income countries.^{[10] [11] [6]} The 2008 budget also created the Development Innovation Fund, which is administered by a consortium comprising GCC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the International Development Research Centre.^[12]

In June 2015, Global Affairs Canada announced an additional C$161 million in funding for the organization over ten years to support the government's Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health.^{[13] [14]}

GCC has supported a number of inventions, including the Odon device,^[15] the Lucky Iron Fish,^[16] the Ovillanta,^[17] a Doppler fetal monitor that operates without electricity,^[18] an artificial knee joint,^[19] a sterile cover for hardware-store drills that transforms them into surgical instruments,^[20] a flocked swab to improve diarrhea diagnosis,^[21] a $5 safe-birth toolkit,^[22] a low-cost 3D-printed prosthetic hand,^[23] and a self-propelled powder to stop bleeding.^[24]

Programs

GCC supports a number of global health programs and initiatives including:

• "Stars in Global Health," which provides seed funding for solutions to global health problems.^[25] Recipients of this award include Evelyn Gitau.^[26]
• "Saving Lives at Birth," which identifies and scales up disease prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns. Saving Lives at Birth is a GCC partnership program with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).^[27]
• "Saving Brains," which supports protecting and nurturing early brain development to provide a long-term exit strategy from poverty. Saving Brains is a GCC partnership program with Aga Khan Foundation Canada, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The ELMA Foundation, Grand Challenges Ethiopia, Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation, Palix Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation, and World Vision Canada.^[28]
• "Global Mental Health," which supports the development of models that can expand access to mental health care and increase the effectiveness of mental health services.^[29] Through Global Mental Health, the Canadian government is funding some of the world's largest research projects on global mental health.^{[30] [31]}
• "Transition to Scale," which brings innovations forward from proof-of-concept. Using venture philanthropy and impact investing models, the program supports the further development of validated ideas in the pipelines of GCC or its partners such as the Skoll Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.^[32]
• Serving as an anchor investor in the Global Health Investment Fund, a US$108 million fund for financing late-stage global health technologies. Other investors and partners include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the International Finance Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, AXA, and Storebrand.^[33]
• The Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) Innovation Marketplace, launched in September 2015 by the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health as part of the United Nations Every Woman Every Child movement. The EWEC Innovation Marketplace brokers GCC's Transition to Scale investments in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health.^[34]
• Creating Hope in Conflict: A Humanitarian Grand Challenge, launched in February 2018 with funding from USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the United Kingdom's DFID, and the Netherland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The program funds innovations that may help people affected by armed conflict or humanitarian crises. The first grand challenge awarded up to $250,000 USD to each of the 23 finalists.^[35]

Governance

GCC is governed by a Board of Directors including members from various sectors, including health, finance, and international development. The Board oversees GCC operations and impact and ensures that GCC activities align with the GCC mission and strategic goals.^[36] GCC is also guided by Scientific Advisory Board.^[37]

External links

• Official website
• Global Grand Challenges website
• Saving Brains program website
• Saving Lives at Birth program website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Renaissance man Joseph Rotman was a patron of education. The Globe and Mail. January 27, 2015.
2. Web site: Grand Challenges Canada Launched. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. May 2, 2010.
3. Web site: A Platform for Innovation: 2016-2017 Annual Report. Grand Challenges Canada. May 2, 2010.
4. Web site: Grand Challenges Canada. MaRS Discovery District. 2017-09-14. 2018-09-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20180916022746/https://www.marsdd.com/ventures-and-tenants/grand-challenges-canada/. dead.
5. Web site: McLaughlin-Rotman Centre up for "Grand Challenge". University Health Network. May 3, 2010.
6. Web site: Grand Challenges Canada Launched. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. May 2, 2010.
7. Grand Challenges in Global Health . Science Magazine. October 17, 2003. 10.1126/science.1091769 . Varmus . H. . Klausner . R. . Zerhouni . E. . Acharya . T. . Daar . A. S. . Singer . P. A. . Science . 302 . 5644 . 398–399 . 14563993 . 243493 .
8. Web site: Grandmother power in Canada's Global Aid. BBC. July 19, 2017.
9. Web site: Grandest Challenge: The Toronto-born crusade to cure the world's sick. Toronto Star. September 23, 2011.
10. Web site: Inventor uses stinky socks to fight malaria. Postmedia Network. July 13, 2011.
11. Web site: The Budget Plan 2008: Responsible Leadership. Government of Canada. February 26, 2008. September 14, 2017. March 3, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230603/http://www.budget.gc.ca/2008/pdf/plan-eng.pdf. dead.
12. Web site: Development Innovation Fund for Global Health Research. 30 April 2019. International Development Research Centre.
13. Web site: Toronto-based firm helps develop medical innovations. Toronto Sun. June 20, 2015.
14. Web site: Canada Partners with Grand Challenges Canada to Save the Lives of Mothers and Children Through Health Innovation. Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. June 12, 2015.
15. Web site: Car Mechanic Dreams Up a Tool to Ease Births. New York Times. November 13, 2013.
16. Web site: 5 made-in-Canada ideas helping women and babies around the world. Global News. May 22, 2014.
17. Web site: Canadian researcher's mosquito trap offers hope in fight against Zika spread. The Globe and Mail. April 8, 2016.
18. Web site: $2 million in grants for bright ideas that help save lives. Toronto Star. July 1, 2011.
19. Web site: Toronto scientist develops artificial leg that costs just $50. Toronto Star. February 9, 2012.
20. Web site: Cover Lets Household Drills Be Used in Surgery. New York Times. August 2, 2016.
21. Web site: 'Flocked swabs' may be key to treating diarrheal diseases in developing countries. Toronto Star. May 25, 2015.
22. Web site: Grand Challenges: Innovative ideas for saving lives get a leg up. Toronto Star. April 29, 2013.
23. Web site: Lending a helping hand: Victoria non-profit in the running for huge Google grant. Global News. March 9, 2017.
24. Web site: UBC researchers create self-propelled powder to stop bleeding. University of British Columbia. October 2, 2015. September 14, 2017. November 30, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231130111616/https://news.ubc.ca/2015/10/02/ubc-researchers-create-self-propelled-powder-to-stop-bleeding/. dead.
25. Web site: Stars in Global Health. Grand Challenges Canada.
26. Web site: Wamuswa. Nanjinia. Canada gives Kenyan scientist Sh8.5 million research grant. 2020-08-17. The Standard. en.
27. Web site: Saving Lives at Birth. Saving Lives at Birth.
28. Web site: Saving Brains. Saving Brains.
29. Web site: Global Mental Health. Grand Challenges Canada.
30. Web site: Mental Health for Sustainable Development. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health. 2017-09-14. 2023-10-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20231031145837/https://www.mhinnovation.net/sites/default/files/downloads/resource/APPG_Mental-Health_Web.pdf. dead.
31. Web site: A Depression-Fighting Strategy That Could Go Viral. New York Times. December 4, 2014.
32. Web site: Transition-to-Scale. Grand Challenges Canada.
33. Web site: Global Health Investment Fund . JPMorgan Chase & Co..
34. Web site: Every Woman Every Child Innovation Marketplace. 12 December 2016. Every Woman Every Child. 14 September 2017. 2 July 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230702170124/https://www.everywomaneverychild.org/about/ewec-ecosystem/#sect12. dead.
35. Web site: Humanitarian Grand Challenge.
36. Web site: Governance . 2024-06-10 . Grand Challenges Canada . en-US.
37. Web site: Our People. Grand Challenges Canada. 2017-09-14. 2017-02-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20170223080336/http://www.grandchallenges.ca/who-we-are/our-people/. dead.