August 2020

World Mosquito Program is a Finalist for the MacArthur 100&Change Grant

World Mosquito Program (WMP) was named as one of six finalists with “bold solutions to critical social challenges” in 100&Change, MacArthur's global competition for a single $100 million grant. In 2016, WMP was one of the winning innovators for the Combating Zika and Future Threats Grand Challenge for Development. WMP developed a technique which uses Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to block disease transmission by mosquitoes that carry Zika, Dengue and other diseases. This approach can be self- sustaining for up to 8 years, often resulting in elimination of local transmission. WMP is currently operating in 12 countries.

Global Health Technologies Coalition and Global Health Council Feature CII Innovators

The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) and Global Health Council both published a blog post titled USAID innovators poised to take on today's grandest global health challenge with an accompanying video, which highlights innovators CII has supported who are now applying their innovations and skill sets to COVID-19 use cases. This blog post focuses on four Grand Challenge innovators: DripAssist, an infusion rate monitor from ShiftLabs; Highlight, a disinfectant powder from Kinnos; Simprints, a biometric identification for disease surveillance; and a low-cost COVID-19 diagnostic test in development by Rice University (who had previously won Grand Challenge awards for the Pumani bubble CPAP).

CII Presents on Innovative Financing Opportunities

CII’s Acting Director Amy Lin presented findings from CII’s Unleashing Private Capital for Global Health Innovation report during a healthcare financing session hosted by the Business Council for the UN (BCUN), Pfizer, and the Global Development Incubator. This session was moderated by the Center for Global Development (CGD) for the UN High-Level Political Forum. The session brought together private and social sector leaders and UN officials to discuss gaps in healthcare financing and a pathway for more creative blended finance models. Market Access expert, Monisha Ashok, also presented CII’s work on innovative and blended financing to the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). There were nearly 100 participants and strong interest and questions on CII’s Utkrisht Development Impact Bond, plans for a Private Capital Fund, and other innovative finance models.

Saving Lives at Birth Final Evaluation Report and Forum

On July 22, the Duke University Innovations in Healthcare team held a digital forum on The Future of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Innovation. Key speakers included Merck for Mothers Executive Director Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet, Laerdal Foundation Executive Director Tore Laerdal, and EGPAF Uganda Country Director Dr. Edward Bitarakwate, among other experts. The forum highlighted the findings from the Saving Lives at Birth Final Evaluation Report. CII Senior Advisor Meghan Majorowski led a panel of MNCH stakeholders-- including other donors, innovators, med-device companies, and NGOs/accelerators-- in a discussion of the evaluation’s implications for the innovation community.