The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA) have extended their Collaborative Agreement until the end of 2025 to accelerate the scaling of health innovations. This partnership combines WHO’s ability to identify public health needs with IDIA’s network of innovation funders, aiming to promote and implement impactful innovations in low- and middle-income countries.
Dr Karlee Silver, IDIA Founding Member and CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, added, “We are very pleased to renew the strategic partnership between IDIA and the World Health Organization. WHO plays an essential role in supporting governments to identify national health needs and priorities. As innovation funders, we see WHO as having the potential to help health innovations to reach impact at scale, and we look forward to working with them as they realize that potential.”
Initiated in 2021, the collaboration focuses on creating a shared agenda to facilitate the demand, supply, assessment, and scale-up of proven health innovations. Notable achievements include the co-design of the World Health Innovation Forum in India in 2023, highlighting the importance of scaling up innovations in public health systems.
Key areas of collaboration include enhancing the identification of innovation demand, contributing relevant innovations from IDIA’s pipeline, efficient assessment of scale-ready innovations, identifying opportunities for scale-up, and developing innovation and scaling skills among stakeholders.
The partnership, endorsed by leaders like Jeremy Farrar of WHO and Dr. Karlee Silver of IDIA, underscores a commitment to address global health challenges collectively. By leveraging expertise and resources, the collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of health innovations where they are needed most, thereby advancing health equity worldwide.
