Grand Challenges Canada is a way to do foreign aid that should be watched closely and, if it succeeds, be widely imitated. It is a bit of the Own the Podium spirit – Canada setting out to solve the world’s big problems (including neglected tropical diseases and the lack of diagnostic tools where they’re needed) with $250-million over five years from the Conservative government. Included is a fund for Canadian “rising stars” in global health – $100,000 for a promising idea, $1-million if it gains traction. Saving lives at birth, an initiative announced on Wednesday, focuses on the critical first 72 hours, in which 1.6 million babies and 225,000 mothers die in a year.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Canada, embrace this Grand Challenge - The Globe and Mail
