Published Online by The Lancet – “Innovating for Every Woman, Every Child” – a study tries to summarize how changes in global developments and connectivity will interact, so that the health and wellbeing of the most marginalized women and children around the world can be improved. Tore Godal, (Special Adviser to Prime Minister of Norway on global health); and Richard Klausner (Managing Partner of The Column Group, San Francisco, USA), wrote a comment on the study which is also published by The Lancet.

According to the article, the way to sustainability is the creation of self-sustaining supply-demand systems where local demand is understood, appreciated and locally solved. The researchers explain:

“This is where democratising technologies like mobile phones are showing the way…In the case of mobile phones, the private sector is providing the infrastructure that represents a great opportunity for the public sector to exploit for better health of its people.”

The article described how 50 projects were received in just two weeks this spring by the “Every Woman, Every Child” Innovation Working Group. The first Grand Challenge for Development called Saving Lives at Birth received approximately 600 proposals this spring, and is supported by the USA, Norway, World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada.

The Grand Challenges aim to transform development challenges that seem impossible into solvable problems. By utilizing experts’ collective imagination and ingenuity from a broad range of disciplines and expertise, the Saving Lives at Birth Challenge encourages innovations for the challenges of protecting mothers and newborns in the world’s poorest locations during their most vulnerable hours. The immediate challenge is to translate this energy and opportunity into improved health for women and children through self sustained supply and demand systems.

Godal and Klausner explain that the UN Secretary General’s initiative “Every Woman, Every Child”, a global strategy to improve women’s and children’s health and accelerate progress towards the Millennium Goals, has the key building blocks required to make it a reality. Five crucial building blocks are:

  1. The principal commitments in Every Woman, Every Child is coming from the leaders in the 49 poorest nations, and in less than one year, over 40 have made solid financial policy and/or technical commitments.
  2. The initiative is a multi-stakeholder plan in which public sector, private sector, NGOs, academia, professional groups, and the UN all are included, engaged and making explicit commitments.
  3. The active participation of parliamentary groups with democratizing technologies provides strong connections to local political processes.
  4. A strong culture of accountability is being fostered through an Accountability Commission that in less than one year developed a series of bold recommendations that are now being implemented.
  5. Innovation is given very high priority, especially through public-private cooperation facilitated by its Innovation Working Group.

Godal and Klausner conclude:

“At this transformational time, we have an unprecedented opportunity through innovation to foster true global development to make the world a better, healthier, secure, and prosperous place through the participation and contributions of its most marginalized people.”

Written by Grace Rattue