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…Canada has become one of the leading funders of mental health innovation in the world. Through our Global Mental Health program, we have invested over $30M CAD to develop, test and scale over 60 bold ideas to save and improve the lives of those living with common mental, neurological and substance-use disorders in low-resource settings by increasing access to care and effectiveness of treatments. We invest in mental health innovation because we see an opportunity for new solutions to address the tractable challenge that hundreds of millions of people living with mental illness currently cannot access effective care in resource-limited settings. We see…innovations. If you are thinking: “Sounds like the kind of impact I want to enable!”, keep reading. This challenge is too big for the committed yet small group of organizations to tackle alone and I invite others to join us to transform the future for people living with mental health conditions around the world.  Drawing on the collective experience of the Grand Challenges…the nature of innovation, it is needed!) but an ability to execute and troubleshoot efficiently is a necessary component to ensure the big impact of bold ideas. Designed with the users. Mental health users have not yet had a strong voice in how they receive care. This is changing thanks to advocacy groups (see Movement…

The Grand Challenges (GC) Network¹, a family of global partners fostering innovation to solve key global health and development problems, today announced a group of more than fifty grant recipients leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle the world’s most pressing health challenges. Emerging technologies, such as AI, machine learning, and quantum computing, are transforming the …rapidly transforming healthcare delivery worldwide, streamlining patient information management, enabling remote consultations, and empowering individuals to monitor their health. However, these innovations must be developed by and for communities where global health challenges are most acute, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), for the greatest impact. In recognition of the power of the fast-evolving…

On March 8, International Women’s Day, Grand Challenges Canada features women innovators who are helping other women to overcome the struggles and issues they face. Vandana Gopikumar is the co-founder and Managing trustee of The Banyan. Lakshmi Narasimhan  is Research Associate with The Banyan. Both of them lead a project under Grand Challenges Canada’s Global Mental Health program that offers alternative living spaces in urban and rural communities for women living with moderate-to-severe mental disorders and intellectual disability, who otherwise face homelessness or long term institutionalization. In this blog, Vandana and Lakshmi recount the stories of two women who are benefiting from the unique support provided by this innovation. Suhasini (*) remembers the first time she experienced what she calls ‘losing her mind’. It was the end of the Summer in Rajasthan,…mental health. The intervention aims to provide pathways for rehabilitation of people in institutional spaces, improve their quality of life, mental health outcomes and community functioning, while promoting human rights. These homes are spread across rural villages and in urban areas, in the vicinity of The Banyan’s other services. Women live there as part of…

“The early days of venture capital remind me very much about today. There is change in the air. People want to do meaningful things – not just financial. The world can't continue to function as it is now.” [caption id="attachment_10606" align="alignright" width="196"] David Cameron speaks at the Social Impact Investment Forum at the G8. Photo…only one – see Ben Thornley’s take-aways from the forum.   Prime Minister David Cameron opened the forum, declaring that “Social investment can be a great force for social change on the planet. It can help us to build bigger and stronger societies.” Of course, he was preaching to the converted but his speech was…role of foundations, donors, development finance institutes (DFIs) and governments to increase the number of impact investments. In particular, there was a push for foundations to step up and take more risks. DFI’s need to be catalytic and bold in terms of their positioning in the ecosystem. Governments need to focus on building a pipeline…Policy Collaborative (IIPC) and the Global Impact Investing Network. I am intrigued to follow the development of this exchange; if it’s user-friendly and accessible to all, then sign us up! The need for transparency was a continuous theme of the forum and this learning exchange would be a great step forward for the sector.  …will continue to build our pipeline of bold ideas, and to structure and implement deals that strike the appropriate ‘impact investment’ balance. We will also continue to promote the strengths and role of Canada in this space, informed and influenced by the knowledge we draw from our results and community stakeholders. Finally, we will be…

The new Sustainable Development Goals represent a historic opportunity to address mental health as a global development priority. For the first time, world leaders have recognized the promotion of mental health and well-being, and the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, as health priorities within the global development agenda. While this growing recognition is a significant step forward, the challenge that we face is substantial. Studies have shown that a mere 10 percent of people with mental disorders in the poorest low-income countries…engaging in therapy, as compared to the control group. Now, with the support of Grand Challenges Canada and scaling partners, the Friendship Bench intervention is being scaled up to 72 new clinics in the cities of Harare, Gweru and Chitungwiza, and is being integrated into a Médecins Sans Frontières mental health program to treat 14,000 people…