Explore Grand Challenges awarded grants

New grant opportunities posted February 2025

Explore Grand Challenges initiatives

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023 to be Held in Dakar, Senegal

Grand Challenges is a <a href="/about">family of initiatives</a> fostering innovation to solve key global health and development problems.

Great ideas come from everywhere.

Videos from the annual Grand Challenges meeting that brings together funding and research partners throughout the Grand Challenges network and beyond. The views expressed in these videos are those of the speakers, and publication here does not imply endorsement by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, which hosts this website.Meeting locations:2023 - Dakar, Senegal2022 - Brussels, Belgium2021 - Boston, United States (Virtual)2020 - New Delhi, India (Virtual)2019 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia2018 - Berlin, Germany2017- Washington DC, United States2016 - London, United Kingdom2015 - Beijing, China2014 - Seattle,&nbsp;United States2013 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil2012- Ottawa, Canada2011 - New Delhi, India2010 - Seattle,&nbsp;United States2009 - Arusha, Tanzania2008 - Bangkok, Thailand2007 - Cape Town, South Africa2006 - Washington DC, United States2005 - Seattle,&nbsp;United States

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting Videos

Creative Moment - Musical Performance: The Kanjele Choir, Senegal

Kanjele Choir; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Creative Moment Musical Performance: Kanjele Choir

Closing Remarks: Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United StatesTrevor Mundel reflects on the 3 days of the 2023 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, highlighting both the meeting and the GC platform as enabling environments for cross-regional collaboration and partnership. He celebrates 20 years of innovation and looks forward to the next generation of leaders, innovations, and research.

Trevor Mundel; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Closing Remarks: Trevor Mundel

Panel Discussion: (Envisioning the Next 20 Years of the Global Health Innovation Journey. Moderator: Trevor Mundel (President of Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States); Moses Alobo (Head of Programmes, Science for Africa Foundation, Kenya); Delese Mimi Darko (Chief Executive, Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana); Tariro Makadzange (Director, Charles River Medical Group and Mutala Research, Zimbabwe); Amadou Sall (Chief Executive Officer, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Senegal)Panelists look back at 20 years of partnership, collaboration and innovation through the Grand Challenges program, and the ways in which the GC model can and will continue to catalyze new R&amp;D in the 20 years to come.

Trevor Mundel; Moses Alobo; Delese Mimi Darko; Tariro Makadzange; Amadou Sall; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Envisioning the Next 20 Years of the Global Health Innovation Journey

Keynote Remarks and Reflections: Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United StatesTrevor Mundel reflects on the three days of the 2023 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, highlighting both the meeting and the Grand Challenges platform as enabling environments for cross-regional collaboration and partnership. He celebrates 20 years of innovation and looks forward to the next generation of leaders, innovations, and research.

Keynote and Reflections: Trevor Mundel

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Rose Malot Waswa, Project Manager/Senior Remote Sensing Analyst, Agriculture and Food Security Projects, Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, KenyaRose Waswa discusses agriculture, climate change, and the future of securing food using promising new innovations.

Rose Waswa; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Rose Malot Waswa

Panel Discussion: (The Climate–Health Crisis: Innovation for Adaptation). Moderator: Alan Dangour (Director of Climate and Health, Wellcome, United Kingdom); Desta Lakew, Group Director of Partnerships and External Affairs at Amref Health Africa, Kenya; George Fu Gao (Member (academician), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); International member, U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS); Foreign member, U.K. Royal Society (RS); Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina; Professor, Institute of Microbiology, CAS; Member, WHO Science and Technology Expert Group; Member, WHO One Health High-Level Expert Panel, China); Alaa Murabit (Director, Global Policy, Advocacy &amp; Communications (Health), Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States)Panelists discuss innovation at the nexus of climate and health and the ways in which the impact of climate change must shift the world’s approach to R&amp;D across the health and development space.

Alan Dangour; Desta Lakew; George Fu Gao; Alaa Murabit; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

The Climate-Health Crisis: Innovation for Adaptation

Keynote Remarks: Astou Ndiaye, WNBA Legend; Founder, ASTOUNDIAYEF; Country Director, CorpsAfrica Senegal, SenegalAstou Ndiaye stresses the need to empower young girls worldwide, calling for collective action to address women's health challenges and global priorities.

Astou Ndiaye; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Keynote Remarks: Astou Ndiaye

Panel Discussion: (Innovating to Accelerate Women’s Health Progress). Moderator: Helen Rees (Executive Director, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa); Ana Sofia Teixeira de Cerdeira (Clinical Lecturer, University of Oxford and Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, United Kingdom); Nelly Mugo (Principal Senior Clinical Research Officer, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenya); Jeffrey Stringer (Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, United States)Panelists explore exciting areas for progress on women's health innovation and science, discussing specific cases and applications witnessed throughout their careers.

Helen Rees; Ana Sofia Teixeira de Cerdeira; Nelly Mugo; Jeffrey Stringer; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Innovating to Accelerate Women’s Health Progress

Keynote Remarks: Melinda French Gates, Co-Chair, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United StatesIn a video message, Melinda French Gates emphasizes the importance of investing in women's health in the next 20 years, inviting partners to share the innovations already transforming communities and the promise of a renewed focus on work in women's health.

Melinda Gates; Melinda French Gates; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Keynote Remarks: Melinda French Gates

Keynote Remarks: Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, NigeriaSpeaking virtually, Minister Muhammad Pate discusses the importance of pursuing the journey of innovation with a clear sense of purpose, also exploring the role of collaboration in both driving innovation and facilitating sustained and efficient delivery.

Muhammad Pate; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Keynote Remarks: Muhammad Pate

Creative Moment - Poetry Recital: Emtithal (Emi) Mahmoud, World Champion Poet, SudanUNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, World Champion Poet, and activist Emtithal Mahmoud performs a poem written especially for and inspired by this year's Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.

Emi Mahmoud; Poetry; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting

Creative Moment: Poetry by Emi Mahmoud

Panel Discussion: (Innovation for the Next Generation: A Rising Community of Scientific Leaders). Moderator: Mohamed Abdel-Kader (Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director for the Innovation, Technology, and Research Hub, United States Agency for International Development, United States); Suhani Jalota (Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Myna Mahila Foundation, India); Moses Obimbo Madadi (Clinician-Scientist, University of Nairobi, Kenya); Dandara Ramos, Associate Professor, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil)As rising leaders in the health and development R&amp;D space from around the world, panelists explore the imperative and impact of bringing new perspectives and approaches to science and innovation.

Mohamed Abdel-Kader; Suhani Jalota; Moses Obimbo Madadi; Dandara Ramos; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Innovation for the Next Generation: A Rising Community of Scientific Leaders

Keynote Remarks: Anita Zaidi, President, Gender Equality Division, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United StatesAnita Zaidi discusses the important role that emerging young leaders play in addressing today's and tomorrow's global Grand Challenges, as their new perspectives promise to deliver novel solutions that can transform our world.

Anita Zaidi; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Keynote Remarks: Anita Zaidi

Panel Discussion: (Harnessing the Power of Science Against Malaria). Moderator: Raïssa Okoï (Freelance Journalist and Communications Specialist, Senegal);Ify Aniebo (Principal Investigator, African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Nigeria); Abdoulaye Diabaté (Head of Medical Entomology and Parasitology, Institut de Recherche en Science de la Santé; Principal Investigator, Target Malaria Burkina Faso, Burkina Faso); Youssou N'Dour (Singer, Songwriter, Businessman, and Global Advocate, Senegal).Youssou N'Dour, Abdoulaye Diabaté, and Ify Aniebo discuss innovations against malaria, focusing more specifically on the potential of gene drive and genomic surveillance to accelerate elimination in the face of insecticide resistance, parasite evolution, and environmental impact.

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023; Raïssa Okoï; Ify Aniebo; Abdoulaye Diabaté; Youssou N’Dour

Harnessing the Power of Science Against Malaria

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Tahmeed Ahmed, Executive Director, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, BangladeshTahmeed Ahmed presents on recent innovations in microbiome-directed ready-to-use therapeutic food to transform nutrition care for children facing acute malnutrition.

Tahmeed Ahmed; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Tahmeed Ahmed

Panel Discussion: (AI for the World: Advancing Inclusive and Equitable Use of Artificial Intelligence). Moderator: Larry Madowo (International Correspondent, CNN, Kenya); Rachel Adams (Programme Director: AI, Research ICT Africa, South Africa); Bill Gates (Co-Chair, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States); Sabin Nsanzimana, Minister of Health, Rwanda, Juliana Rotich (Head of Fintech Integration, M-PESA, Kenya); David Sengeh (Chief Minister and Chief Innovation Officer, Republic of Sierra Leone).Multisectoral panelists, including researchers, government representatives, and funders, explore artificial intelligence's potential to improve lives around the world while balancing the risks inherent to proceeding without thoughtful consideration. As global and regional AI experts, speakers emphasized the importance of equity and inclusion in developing and deploying AI tools at scale, ensuring that they both meet the needs of and reach people in lower-resource settings.

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023, Larry Madowo; Rachel Adams; Bill Gates; Juliana Rotich; David Sengeh

AI for the World: Advancing Inclusive and Equitable Use of Artificial Intelligence

Keynote Remarks: Meg Whitman, United States Ambassador to Kenya, US Department of State, United StatesAmbassador Whitman explains the importance of nurturing and supporting scientists and innovators to propose novel solutions to major challenges, specifically highlighting growing opportunities for R&amp;D in Africa and the necessity of collaborating with emerging African scientific leaders.

Meg Whitman; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Keynote Remarks: Meg Whitman

Keynote Remarks: Karlee Silver, Chief Executive Officer, Grand Challenges Canada, CanadaKarlee Silver highlights the commitment of the Grand Challenges network to empower people who face the world's most pressing challenges, emphasizing the importance of strong local leadership and a reorientation of global ecosystems.

Karlee Silver; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Keynote Remarks: Karlee Silver

Panel Discussion: (Health Technology Research and Access: Realizing the Power of Innovation). Moderator: Moderator: Vivian Hsu, Deputy Director, Vaccine Development and Surveillance; Deputy Director, Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States; Carlos Gadelha, Secretary of Science, Technology, Innovation and Health Complex, Ministry of Health, Brazil; Ebrahim Mohamed, Head of Science and Innovation, Biovac, South Africa; Neni Nurainy, Head of Division, Translational Development of Life Science Product, PT Bio Farma, Indonesia; Petro Terblanche, Chief Executive Officer, Afrigen Biologics, South Africa Carlos Gadelha (Secretary of Science, Technology, Innovation and Health Complex, Ministry of Health, Brazil); Ebrahim Mohamed (Head of Science and Innovation, Biovac, South Africa); Neni Nurainy (Head of Division, Translational Development of Life Science Product, PT Bio Farma, Indonesia); Petro Terblanche (Chief Executive Officer, Afrigen Biologics, South Africa)Government and industry representatives from around the world reflect on ongoing research for vaccines and therapeutics, sharing lessons learned from efforts to strengthen domestic R&amp;D and accelerate the pace of innovation, with a specific look at the promise of mRNA technology.

Katey Einterz Owen; Carlos Gadelha; Ebrahim Mohamed; Neni Nurainy; Petro Terblanche; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Health Technology Research and Access: Realizing the Power of Innovation

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: (Univercells and the Institut Pasteur de Dakar's collaboration… A Grand Challenges Story). José Castillo, Chief Executive Officer, Quantoom Biosciences, Belgium; Amadou Sall, Chief Executive Officer, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, SenegalJosé Castillo and Amadou Sall showcase the unique collaboration between the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (Senegal) and Univercells/Quantoom (Belgium) on vaccine manufacturing in Senegal, including reflections on Project MADIBA and its promise to expand Africa's ability to produce vaccines.&nbsp;

José Castillo; Amadou Sall; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: José Castillo and Amadou Sall

Unveiling of a new piece by Senegalese artist, Boubou Design, created especially for and inspired by this year's Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.

Boubou Design; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Creative Moment: Art Presentation

Panel Discussion: (The Role of Leadership in Catalyzing Innovation). Moderator: Raïssa Okoï, Freelance Journalist and Communication Specialist, Senegal. Panelists: H.E. President Macky Sall (President, Republic of Senegal); Bill Gates (Co-Chair, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States)H.E. President Macky Sall and Bill Gates reflect on the role of leadership in catalyzing innovation and ensuring that novel and critical technologies can reach those in need.&nbsp;

Raïssa Okoï; President Macky Sall; Bill Gates; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

The Role of Leadership in Catalyzing Innovation

Keynote Address: H.E. President Macky Sall, Republic of SenegalH.E. President Macky Sall opens the 2023 Grand Challenges Meeting, emphasizing the role of collaboration to secure funding, stimulate dialogue, and support the research and science needed to overcome critical global health challenges. As part of this, he highlights the steps that Senegal and the African continent more broadly have already taken to advance innovations and improve health outcomes.

Macky Sall; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023; 

Keynote Address (English Version): President Macky Sall, President of Senegal

Keynote Address: H.E. President Macky Sall, Republic of SenegalH.E. President Macky Sall opens the 2023 Grand Challenges Meeting, emphasizing the role of collaboration to secure funding, stimulate dialogue, and support the research and science needed to overcome critical global health challenges. As part of this, he highlights the steps that Senegal and the African continent more broadly have already taken to advance innovations and improve health outcomes.&nbsp;

Macky Sall; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Keynote Remark: President Macky Sall

Keynote Address: Presidnt Azali Assoumani, Union of the Comoros; Chairperson, African UnionH.E. President Azali Assoumani discusses the importance of tackling ongoing global health challenges, outlining the efforts that the African Union and the Union of Comoros will take to address these priorities – This includes placing greater emphasis on women's health innovation, supporting regional vaccine production, and working to provide greater access to affordable care for all.

Azali Assoumani; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting

Keynote Address  (English Version): President Azali Assoumani

Keynote Address: President Azali Assoumani

Keynote Address: Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United StatesBill Gates reflects on 20 years of the Grand Challenges program, highlighting the progress made since 2003 and emphasizing the need for further innovation, use of equitable Artificial Intelligence, more flexible regulatory processes, investment in infrastructure, and increased funding for global health research to accelerate progress and ultimately achieve the goal of a healthier world for all.

Bill Gates; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Keynote Address: Bill Gates

Opening Remarks: Cheikh Oumar Seydi, Director, Africa, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, South Africa&nbsp;&nbsp;Cheikh Oumar Seydi welcomes meeting attendees to Senegal, thanks the government for its hospitality, and introduces H.E. President Macky Sall.

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023, Cheikh Oumar Seydi

Opening Remarks: Cheikh Oumar Seydi

Welcome and Opening Remarks: Kedest Tesfagiorgis, Deputy Director, Global Partnerships and Grand Challenges, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United StatesKedest Tesfagiorgis welcomes participants to the 2023 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, celebrating 20 years of Grand Challenges programs.

Kedest Tesfagiorgis; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2023

Welcome and Opening Remarks: Kedest Tesfagiorgis

Closing Remarks: Trevor Mundel (President Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation)

Trevor Mundel; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Special Address: Macky Sall, President, Republic of Senegal; Chairperson, African Union.

President Macky Sall reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the urgent need for research, innovation, and strong partnerships to prepare for and respond to global health crises and describes the challenges and successes of pandemic response in Senegal and across the African continent. He concludes with the announcement of the selection of Dakar, Senegal as the host location of the 2023 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting.

Macky Sall; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Special Address: President Macky Sall, President of Senegal

Panel Discussion (Looking Ahead: Priorities to Strengthen Global Health). Moderator: Senait Fisseha (Director of Global Programs, Susan T. Buffett Foundation, United States). Panelists: Trevor Mundel (President, Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States); Amadou Sall (CEO, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Senegal).

Panelists reflect on all three days of the Annual Meeting and explore what innovations are currently making a notable impact in global health, including how the COVID-19 response changed approaches to innovation. They discuss which innovations in the R&amp;D pipeline they are most excited about, and what more we need to do to support, expand and accelerate the pipeline over the next five years to position the global health community to meet 2028 Global Fund Replenishment goals. The conversation culminates in the announcement of the creation of Grand Challenges Senegal and a reiteration that the 2023 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting will be hosted in Dakar, Senegal.

Senait Fisseha; Trevor Mundel; Amadou Sall; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Looking Ahead: Priorities to Strengthen Global Health

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk (Containing Future Pathogens at Ground Zero: The Urgent Need for Local Responses to Global Threats).&nbsp;Abdoulaye Djimde, President, Pathogens genomic Diversity Network Africa; Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellow; Mali.

Abdoulaye Djimde reflects on the need for improved genetic epidemiology infrastructure at the country level to better protect the global community, highlighting the power of leveraging local expertise by building lab capacity and training young scientists. To illustrate this point, he draws on a variety of real-world examples, ranging from the success of a village tackling malaria to the partnership between the National Institutes of Health and scientific community in Mali.

Abdoulaye Djimde; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Abdoulaye Djimde

Panel Discussion: (African Entrepreneurship in Research and Development: Driving Impact for the Continent and the World). Moderator: Peter Piot (Special Advisor to European Commission President, European Commission, Belgium). Panelists: Yaw Bediako (Chief Executive Officer, Yemaachi Biotech Inc; Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellow; Ghana); Kelly Chibale (Director, H3D Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa), Precious Lunga (Founder, Baobab Circle, United Kingdom); Victoria Sabula (Chief Executive Officer, Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, Kenya).

Panelists explore how African innovation and entrepreneurship are critical to rethinking intractable problems and supporting a rapidly maturing scientific ecosystem on the continent. Sharing specific examples of how African leaders and institutions are driving an R&amp;D revolution, panelists consider what's needed to continue funding and sustaining African scientific ingenuity.

Peter Piot; Yaw Bediako; Kelly Chibale; Precious Lunga; Victoria Sabula; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

African Entrepreneurship in Research and Development: Driving Impact for the Continent and the World

Keynote Remarks: Trevor Mundel, President, Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States.

To kick off Day 3 of the conference, Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health at the Gates Foundation, argues that the future of global health R&amp;D requires accelerating innovation timelines, improving regulatory oversight, and focusing on delivery to ensure everyone can benefit from new technologies. He also gives this year's Meeting Call to Action and updates attendees on the projects arising from last year's meeting.

Keynote Remarks: Trevor Mundel

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Rajesh S. Gokhale, Chairperson, BIRAC; Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

Rajesh Gokhale describes the creation of India's first locally made HPV vaccine, detailing the effort that went into the identification of its need and subsequent development of this vaccine, as supported by Grand Challenges India. He further expands on the impact of Grand Challenges India since its launch in 2012 and the way it has fostered Indian innovation and research to develop affordable and sustainable solutions to improve health in India and across the globe.

Rajesh S. Gokhale; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Rajesh S. Gokhale

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk (Female Founders and a SuperApp: Democratizing Healthcare in Pakistan). Iffat Zafar Aga, Co-founder &amp; Chief Operations Officer, Sehat Kahani, Pakistan

Highlighting the importance of using R&amp;D to provide care in times of crisis, Iffat Zafar speaks about how her organization, Sehat Kahani, works to provide healthcare to marginalized and isolated communities via telemedicine. She describes how Sehat Kahani’s Network of E-Health Centers has helped fill a major gap in healthcare access in Pakistan, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and envisions a future in which the network is scaled around the world for countries facing the same healthcare challenges.

Iffat Zafar, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Iffat Zafar Aga

Panel Discussion: (Critical Data Gaps and their Impacts on Women's Health &amp; Agency). Moderator: Steven Kern (Deputy Director, Quantitative Sciences, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States). Panelists: Patrice Matchaba (President, Novartis US Foundation, United States); Nelly Mugo (Principal Senior Clinical Research Officer, Kenya Medical Research Institute; Associate Research Officer, Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Kenya); Signe Ratso (Deputy Director General, DG RTD, European Commission, Belgium); Anita Zaidi (President, Gender Equality, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States).

Panelists explore the absence of data on women’s health issues in early-stage R&amp;D, deconstructing how and why the current R&amp;D environment too often neglects them. Specifically, they reflect on how a persistent lack of gender-disaggregated data impacts fundamental understanding, decision making, and design and production of lifesaving tools for girls, women, and their communities. Panelists discuss the immediate steps, as well as long-term systemic changes, needed to close these gaps, with the goal of building more gender-balanced and inclusive global health R&amp;D ecosystems.

Steven Kern; Patrice Matchaba; Nelly Mugo; Anita Zaidi; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Critical Data Gaps and their Impacts on Women’s Health and Agency

Panel Discussion: (Pandemic Prep Exercise: Where Do We Go From Here?). Moderator: Tom Inglesby (Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, United States). Panelists: Valerie Nkamgang Bemo (Deputy Director, Global Development, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States); Johanna Hanefeld (Director &amp; Head Of Department; Centre for International Health Protection (ZIG) at Robert Koch Institute, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom); Mike Ryan (Director, Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization, Switzerland).

Panelists discuss the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and strategic priorities to improve global identification, response, and containment of future outbreaks.

Tom Inglesby, Valerie Nkamgang Bemo, Johanna Hanefeld, Mike Ryan, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Pandemic Prep Exercise: Where Do We Go From Here?

Valerie Nkamgang Bemo, Deputy Director, Global Development - Emergency Response, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States.

Valerie Bemo connects the message of the power of community and solidarity to the gaps and needs for effective global pandemic preparedness. She reminds viewers of the meaning of Ubuntu, "I am because we are."

Valerie Nkamgang Bemo, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Keynote Remarks: Valerie Nkamgang Bemo

Panel Discussion: (The Case for Investing in Innovation and Collaboration). Moderator: Iruka Okeke (Professor, University of Ibadan; Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellow; Nigeria). Panelists: Alexander De Croo (Prime Minister, Belgium); Bill Gates (Co-chair, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States); Bettina Stark-Watzinger (Federal Minister for Education and Research, Germany); Ursula von der Leyen (President, European Commission, Belgium).

World leaders discuss the urgent need for sustainable and equitable global health innovation, reflecting on how global access to lifesaving innovations continues to be slow and inequitable. As part of this, they also consider the need for strengthened R&amp;D ecosystems to meet the needs of an increasingly complex, interconnected world.

Iruka Okeke; Alexander De Croo; Bill Gates; Bettina Stark-Watzinger; Ursula von der Leyen; Grand Challenge

The Case for Investing in Innovation and Collaboration

Keynote Remarks: Ursula von der Leyen, President, European Commission, Belgium

Reflecting on the COVID-19 response and experience with the pandemic more broadly, President Ursula von der Leyen discusses the power of research, the need for increased manufacturing capacity, and the difference global solidarity and collaboration can make during crisis response. From this, she outlines six key lessons learned.

Ursula von der Leyen, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Keynote Remarks: Ursula von der Leyen

Keynote Remarks: Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States

To help open the conference, Bill Gates describes how breakthroughs in the areas of diagnostics, vaccines, and drugs during COVID-19 should change our paradigm for thinking about all three — not just in relation to pandemic preparedness but to the overall work of global health. He gives specific examples of how we can and should now be more ambitious about using all three tools to fight endemic diseases like HIV, TB, and malaria.

Bill Gates; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talks: (The Battle Against Viruses: No Time to Lose!). Johan Neyts, Head of the Laboratory of Virology, Antiviral Drug &amp; Vaccine Research, Rega Institute, University of Leuven, Belgium

Johan Neyts discusses the importance of R&amp;D to mitigate viral outbreaks. He explains how resource mobilization contributed to rapid and successful COVID-19 vaccine discovery, but certain viruses and future outbreaks may be harder to mitigate. The best way to prepare for these crises, then, is developing broader-acting antiviral drugs in times of peace. To illustrate this point, Neyts highlights programs in which the Belgian government currently invests to aid epidemic and pandemic preparedness.

Johan Neyts; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Johan Neyts

Panel Discussion: (The Impact of Humanitarian Crises on Global Health). Moderator: Paul Spiegel (Professor and Director, Center for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, United States). Panelists: Ann Burton (Chief, Public Health Section, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Switzerland); Jean Jacques Muyembe Tamfum (Director General, National Institute of Biomedical Research, Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Panelists discuss disease outbreaks and the secondary and tertiary health effects of humanitarian emergencies on global public health systems and individual communities. Panelists explore the factors that have made – and could make – innovations to mitigate these successful and equitably available, emphasizing how R&amp;D is critical to minimizing the effects of these destabilizing events.

Paul Spiegel, Ann Burton, Jean Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

The Impact of Humanitarian Crises on Global Health

Keynote Remarks: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization, Switzerland.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus discusses current key priorities for the World Health Organization and the global health community, including expanding health system infrastructure in low-and middle-income countries to mitigate healthcare accessibility inequities and sustaining an emergency response&nbsp;workforce to prepare for future global health crises. Crucially, innovation and R&amp;D must drive these&nbsp;global health advancements.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Keynote Remarks: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Welcome and Opening Remarks: Kedest Tesfagiorgis, Deputy Director, Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, United States.&nbsp;

Kedest Tesfagiorgis welcomes participants to the 18th Grand Challenges Annual Meeting and introduces the meeting's main focus: the importance of ongoing investment in innovation for all and how countries most affected by ongoing health challenges can drive the global health R&amp;D agenda. Here, she highlights the value of partnerships to support science as a tool for positive change, essential to improve and save lives.&nbsp;

Kedest Tesfagiorgis; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2022

Closing Remarks: Trevor Mundel (President Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation) 
 
Trevor Mundel closes the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021.

Trevor Mundel; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Closing Conversation: (Managing the Pandemic and Preparing for the Next One: The European Union's Perspective). Moderator: Trevor Mundel (President Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation); Ursula von der Leyen (President, European Commission) 
 
Trevor Mundel and Ursula von der Leyen discuss how the European Union (EU) is investing in areas that will help the world emerge from this pandemic stronger and more equitably, with cross-border and sector partnerships being prioritized to accelerate global health R&amp;D. They also announce that the 2022 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting will be hosted in Brussels.

Trevor Mundel; Ursula von der Leyen; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Managing the Pandemic and Preparing for the Next One: The European Union's Perspective

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: (The Ramifications of COVID-19 - Big Dreams Evaporated and a Generation Disrupted). Julie Mwabe, Gender Advisor, Policy and Strategy Unit, Executive Office of the President of Kenya

Julie Mwabe will discuss how the pandemic has led to a loss of income and increases in sex work among women, child marriage, and child labor.

Julie Mwabe; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Julie Mwabe

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: (COVID-19 and Pregnancy: The Potential to Accelerate Gender Equity in Health Innovation). Ajoke Sobanjo-ter Meulen, Senior Program Officer, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation 
 
Ajoke Sobanjo-ter Meulen discusses vaccine safety to prevent COVID-19 in pregnant women.

Ajoke Sobanjo-ter Meulen; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Ajoke Sobanjo ter Meulen

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: (Health Services in Covid-19: Delivered by Women, Led by Men). Roopa Dhatt, Executive Director, Women in Global Health 
 
Roopa Dhatt discusses the impact of the pandemic on female health workers.

Roopa Dhatt; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Roopa Dhatt

Keynote Remarks: Melinda French Gates, Co-Chair, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation 
 
Melinda French Gates outlines the disproportionate impact of health crises and economic shocks on historically marginalized communities, in particular women and girls, and highlights how putting these groups at the center of an inclusive recovery agenda can help redress longtime disparities and unleash the potential of half the world’s population.

Melinda French Gates; Melinda Gates; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Welcome and Keynote Remarks: Anita Zaidi, President, Gender Equality, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation 
 
Anita Zaidi speaks about the meaning of inclusive recovery, particularly emphasizing the importance of ensuring women and girls are included in recovery efforts in a meaningful way and the need to invest in country-led R&amp;D ecosystems so that local actors are supported and empowered to ensure that scientific discoveries translate into impact in their communities.

Anita Zaidi; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Welcome and Keynote Remarks: Anita Zaidi

Panel Discussion: (Centers for Disease Control As Cornerstones of Pandemic Preparedness and Response). Moderator: Scott Dowell (Deputy Director, Surveillance and Epidemiology, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation). Panelists:&nbsp; Andrea Ammon (Director, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control); George Gao (Director-General, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention); John Nkengasong (Director, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; Rochelle Walensky, Director, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) 
 
CDC Directors from across the world highlight the role of their institutions in responding to COVID-19 and improving pandemic preparedness through complementary approaches at the local, national, and global levels.

Scott Dowell; Andrea Ammon; George Gao; John Nkengasong; Rochelle Walensky; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Centers for Disease Control as Cornerstones of Pandemic Preparedness and Response

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk (A Paradigm Shift in Vaccine Development). Jason S. McLellan, Professor and Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin. 
 
Jason S. McLellan covers the groundbreaking science behind the race for new vaccines.

Jason S. McLellan; Jason McLellan; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021;

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Jason S. McLellan

Panel Discussion: (A New Model for Global Health &amp; Development Innovation). Moderator: Trevor Mundel (President, Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation). Panelists: Ifeyinwa Aniebo (Senior Research Scientist and Principal Investigator, Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation, Nigeria); Francis Collins, Director, United States National Institutes of Health; Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela (Chief Executive Officer, South African Health Products Regulatory Authority); Paul Stoffels (Vice Chair of the Executive Committe and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson &amp; Johnson) 
 
Panelists in this discussion evaluate where we saw the global R&amp;D ecosystem fall short during the COVID-19 pandemic and ask what it should look like: not just for COVID-19 and future pandemics, but for the major challenges that global health leaders have fought against for decades. Panelists specifically explore how to redesign the global health ecosystem to advance cutting-edge science as quickly as possible while building a locally led, gender-equal R&amp;D ecosystem.

A New Model for Global Health and Development Innovation

Keynote Remarks: Trevor Mundel, President, Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation 
 
Trevor Mundel details the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation's commitment to investing in country-led R&amp;D capacity as the quickest and most effective way to equitably solve the biggest challenges in health and development. He also announces the winners of the Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellowship.

Trevor Mundel; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021;

Closing Remarks: Mark Suzman, Chief Executive Officer, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation 
 
Mark Suzman charts the evolution of the Grand Challenges program and how it reflects the foundation's commitment to supporting local R&amp;D ecosystems.

Mark Suzman; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021;

Closing Remarks: Mark Suzman

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: (The Urgency of Now). Melanie Saville, Director of Vaccine Research &amp; Development, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations 
 
Melanie Saville discusses the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations' (CEPI) six-point action plan to invest in groundbreaking research and development while also enabling access to life saving vaccines.

Melanie Saville; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Melanie Saville

Keynote Remarks: Honorable Minister Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Government of Pakistan 
 
Honorable Minister Faisal Sultan describes the state of COVID-19 and the recovery agenda in Pakistan, and emphasizes the importance of strengthening the local R&amp;D ecosystem so local problem solvers are supported to solve local problems and global challenges. He announces the launch of a national Grand Challenges Pakistan and how it is designed to achieve these goals.

Faisal Sultan; Government of Pakistan; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting

Keynote Remarks: Faisal Sultan

Keynote Remarks: (Ending this Pandemic and Preventing the Next One). Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation 
 
Bill Gates speaks about promising COVID-driven innovation and his thoughts on R&amp;D priorities for the future of pandemic preparedness.

Bill Gates; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021;

Keynote Remarks: Bill Gates

Panel Discussion: (The State of COVID-19 Globally). Moderator: Yvonne Greenstreet (President &amp; Chief Operating Officer, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals). Panelists: Balram Bhargava (Secretary, Department of Health Research, Government of India &amp; Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research); Anthony Fauci (Director, United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases); Matshidiso Moeti (Regional Director for Africa, World Health Organization) 
 
Even though enormous progress has been made to accelerate science and R&amp;D against COVID-19, the pandemic is still raging in many parts of the world. This panel focuses on the current state of COVID-19 around the world, discussing not only the science but the speakers' lived experiences throughout the pandemic.

Yvonne Greenstreet; Balram Bhargava; Anthony Fauci; Toni Fauci; Matshidiso Moeti; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021;

The State of COVID 19 Globally

Opening Keynote Address: Francis Collins, Director, United States National Institutes of Health

Francis Collins introduces the themes of the Annual Meeting, focusing on the application of key COVID-19 learnings and scientific advances.

Francis Collins; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Opening Keynote Address: Francis Collins

Welcome and Opening Remarks: Kedest Tesfagiorgis, Deputy Director, Global Partnerships &amp; Grand Challenges, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation 
 
Kedest Tesfagiorgis welcomes participants to the 17th Grand Challenges Annual Meeting and introduces the two main focuses of the meeting: first, discussing the significant challenges still facing us as we work to manage and end the acute phase of the pandemic everywhere; and second, imagining the "new normal" for global health, one in which the lessons from the COVID-19 response inform best practices for a healthier, more resilient and more equitable future.

Kedest Tesfagiorgis, Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2021

Keynote Remarks: Jeremy Farrar (Director, Wellcome Institute)

Keynote Remarks: Jeremy Farrar

Closing Remarks: Kedest Tesfagiorgis (Deputy Director, Global Partnerships and Grand Challenges, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation)

Closing Remarks: Kedest Tesfagiorgis

Closing Conversation: Moderator: Trevor Mundel (President, Global Health, Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation); Panelists: Penny Heaton (Chief Executive Officer, Gates Medical Research Institute); Michelle A. Williams (Dean of the Faculty, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

Closing Conversation: Trevor Mundel

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk VI: Manu Prakash (Professor of Bioengineering, Stanford University)

Manu Prakash; Grand Challenges Annual Meeting New Delhi; Spotlight Talk

Grand Challenges Spotlight Talk: Manu Prakash

Panel Discussion (Going Far, Together: Partnering to Strengthen the Product Pipeline for COVID-19 and Beyond). Moderator: Penny Heaton (Chief Executive Officer, Gates Medical Research Institute); Keynote Remarks: Jeremy Farrar (Director, Wellcome); Panelists: Balram Bhargava (Secretary, Department of Health Research, Government of India &amp; Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research); Francis Collins (Director, National Institutes of Health); Githinji Gitahi (Group Chief Executive Officer, Amref Health Africa); Kathrin Jansen (Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research and Development, Pfizer Inc.); Salim Abdool Karim (Director, Centre For The AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa &amp; Chair of the South African Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19); Helen Rees (Executive Director, Wits University Reproductive Health and HIV Institute; South Africa Health Products Regulatory Authority, Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee; Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations)

Keynote Address: Bill Gates

Keynote Address: Bill Gates

Keynote Remarks: Bill Gates

Keynote Remarks: Bill Gates

Plenary Keynote Address: Bill Gates

Keynote Address: Bill Gates

Keynote Address: Bill Gates