Gates Foundation, Brazilian Ministry of Health to Partner on Global Health Initiative
Gates Foundation, Brazilian Ministry of Health to Partner on Global Health Initiative
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Brazilian Ministry of Health have announced a strategic alliance to prioritize the development of solutions for pressing global health issues.
To that end, the alliance will dedicate resources to tackling challenges associated with vaccines, nutrition, maternal and child health, and infectious disease control. Among other things, the alliance — which builds on an existing collaboration between Brazil and the Gates Foundation — will work to fund the development and manufacturing of vaccines to better meet the needs of the GAVI Alliance and explore cutting-edge vaccine research.
Later this year, the Ministry of Health, the National Council on Research, and the Gates Foundation will launch the alliance's flagship initiative, Grand Challenges Brazil, which aims to catalyze innovative health research. Initially focused on maternal and child health, the initiative will allocate up to $8 million for research into the prevention and management of pre-term birth.
Complications related to pre-term birth are the second leading cause of death in children under the age of five globally, and solutions developed in Brazil could have broad impact both within and outside its borders. The initiative will work toward similar goals as those of the Stork Network, a national maternal and child health program launched by Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff in 2011.
"Brazil's leadership is helping to ensure that innovation in health is prioritized," said Trevor Mundel, president of the global health program at the Gates Foundation. "We believe this collaboration can serve as a model for international donors and emerging economies to work together for global impact."
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