52 finalists advance to round 4 of the Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenge to Prevent Maternal, Infant Deaths

Voting Opens for People’s Choice Award at www.savinglivesatbirth.net

For Immediate Release

Thursday, July 10, 2014
USAID Press Office
+1-202-712-4320 | Email: USAIDPressOfficers@usaid.gov | Twitter: @USAIDPress

WASHINGTON – The Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development partners announced the 52 finalists today in its fourth global call for innovative ideas to protect mothers and newborns in the poorest places on earth during their most vulnerable hours. 

The Saving Lives at Birth partnership, launched in 2011, includes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada (funded by the Government of Canada), and the U.K’s Department for International Development (DFID). The Grand Challenge is a global call for groundbreaking, scalable solutions to infant and maternal mortality around the time of birth. Saving Lives at Birth is currently in its fourth and final award round for the program’s original commitment.  The Grand Challenge has funded 59 innovations to date, aiming to address the 287,000 maternal deaths, 2.9 million neo-natal deaths, and 2.6 million stillbirths that occur each year.

From July 30-Aug. 1, the 52 finalists will compete in the final stage of the competition at a DevelopmentXChange in Washington, D.C. The DevelopmentXChange will serve as a launching pad for innovators to develop and scale the next transformational innovation in childbirth.

The 53 finalists, alongside the previous round grantees, will showcase their innovations to the public during an open marketplace. The finalists with the most promising innovations will be announced at a high-level forum on the last day of the DevelopmentXChange on Aug. 1. The forum will also feature forward-looking talks from innovators, influencers, and implementers to further inspire collective action.

Profiles of the 52 finalists are posted www.savinglivesatbirth.net, where the public can vote for their top innovation. The public is also invited to vote during the open marketplace on August 1. The finalist with the most votes will receive the honorary People’s Choice Award. Voting opens July 9 and closes July 29 at 5 p.m. EST.

Saving Lives at Birth round four finalists were selected from almost 500 submissions. More than half of the applications came from low-and middle-income countries.

To learn more about the finalists’ innovations and to participate in voting for the People’s Choice Award, go to: www.savinglivesatbirth.net.