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Grand Challenges Canada’s support for Vitalk leads to acquisition & improved health care access for underserved populations
Toronto, May 19, 2022—New or expecting mothers can have a lot of health-related questions and concerns. But what if it is difficult or costly to see a medical professional? This is the case in much of the world. In Brazil, for example, inequitable access to health care means that infant and maternal mortality rates are […]
SFU researchers use virtual tool, community supports to address mental health gaps in Vietnam, with the support of Grand Challenges Canada
Vancouver/Coast Salish Territories/Toronto, April 7, 2022 – A Simon Fraser University initiative created to support people in self-managing their depression is being reimagined as a virtual tool to help reduce the community mental health gap in Vietnam. Implementation was made possible with funding from Grand Challenges Canada, a Canadian not-for-profit organization that invests […]
Guest blog by Kore Global: Navigating the complex space of measuring violence against women and girls
By Katherine Nichol (Senior Technical Consultant, Kore Global) and Rebecca Calder (Director and Co-Founder, Kore Global) In 2021, Grand Challenges Canada partnered with Kore Global on a journey to better equip social impact innovators with the know-how to measure impact related to violence against women and girls (VAWG). Through a process of reflection and review […]
Statement on the passing of former Grand Challenges Canada Board member Dr. Mwele Ntuli Malecela
Toronto, February 14, 2022—The Grand Challenges Canada team extends their deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Dr. Mwele Ntuli Malecela. We are saddened by the passing of a world-renowned leader in public health and champion for innovation in Africa, especially at the young age of 58. A former member of Grand Challenges […]
The time is right for mental health innovation
By: Karlee Silver and Jocelyn Mackie, Co-CEOs, Grand Challenges Canada The global COVID pandemic has put unprecedented stress on our mental health and our mental health systems. And now, after a grim two years, the uncertainty of the Omicron variant is pushing Canadians even deeper into feelings of anxiety and depression. As we face another […]
Cross-Border Impact Ventures launches new impact fund with commitments of US$30 million
Toronto, December 10, 2021 — Cross-Border Impact Ventures (CBIV) today announced the launch of the firm and its Women’s and Children’s Health Technology Fund, which will invest in health technology companies that address the health needs of women, children, and adolescents or make health systems more resilient. CBIV has US$30 million in commitments towards an […]
How the National Institutes of Health could have helped prevent COVID vaccine apartheid
By: Jocelyn Mackie, Co-CEO, and David Brook, Chief Strategy Officer, Grand Challenges Canada. A recent New York Times article, Moderna and U.S. at Odds Over Vaccine Patent Rights, highlights an all-too-common challenge in the world of public-private partnerships for health research and innovation—who has the legal right to deploy the novel products and services that […]
Tanzania’s Ubongo wins Grand Challenges Canada’s Rotman Innovation of the Year Award
Through science and technology, Ubongo creates multiplatform learning that benefits children across Sub-Saharan Africa Nairobi/Toronto, November 24, 2021—Ubongo, a Tanzania-based nonprofit social enterprise and Africa’s leading producer of kids’ edutainment, is this year’s winner of the prestigious Rotman Innovation of the Year Award, worth $10,000 Canadian dollars (approximately 19 million Tanzanian shillings) The accolade is […]
Harnessing the power of digital technology to address Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights challenges
By: Drew-Anne Glennie, 2021 Summer Fellow Women, girls and gender-diverse individuals have faced disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic and social stresses in conjunction with social isolation and movement restrictions have led to a surge in gender-based violence (GBV), further exacerbated by overworked health and justice systems. A UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) study predicted 15 million additional cases of GBV were expected every three months […]
Orange Shirt Day: Turning our collective grief to action
Calling on all Canadians to invest in Indigenous innovation as a way to help Canada move closer to reconciliation By: Sara Wolfe (Anishnawbe), Director of the Indigenous Innovation Initiative at Grand Challenges Canada, and Jocelyn Mackie, Co-CEO of Grand Challenges Canada. September 30th is Orange Shirt Day—a day to “commemorate the residential school experience, to […]