November 2020

Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2020

At the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting (GCAM) 2020, CII’s Innovation team hosted a roundtable called, Overcoming Scaling Challenges -- The Innovation Index and the Country Innovation Platform to discuss tools and approaches to solve the disconnect that exists between the “supply” of deployable innovations and the “demand” of countries seeking innovative and locally-appropriate solutions to their priority health challenges. The panel featured CII’s Meghan Majorowski as moderator and Ankunda Kariisa as presenter on the Global Health Innovation Index and highlighted innovator perspectives from USAID-supported innovators Gradian, Shift Labs and Muso.

Enabling Oxygen Access in LMICs for COVID-19

USAID recently announced an $18 million commitment to provide oxygen support in partnering low- and middle-income countries. Supplemental oxygen is an essential, life-saving treatment for people ill with COVID-19. Technical experts across the Bureau for Global Health came together with the Sustained Crisis Response Team to develop a variety of country-level strategies on how to use these funds and focused on appropriate oxygen supply modalities for the country and facility; minimum viable package of consumables / durables to accompany any oxygen supply; and needed clinical and non-clinical activities to ensure safe, quality, and sustainable delivery of oxygen.

OECD Observatory for Public Innovation Panel Feature on Innovations

CII’s Acting Director, Amy Lin, spoke on an Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Observatory for Public Innovation (OPSI) panel called, Innovation without borders: How can we better support innovation efforts from low and middle income countries? Alongside the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, and Cambridge University Business School Professor, Jaideep Prabhu, Amy discussed how the development community can support innovation efforts by enabling them to pivot to COVID-19 needs, using a partnership and human-centered design approach, and leveraging blended finance opportunities.

G20 Digital Health Taskforce Report Launch

Last week the G20 Digital Health Taskforce published the report, Digital Health: Implementation approach to Pandemic Management. Adele Waugaman served as an advisor to the Taskforce and brought a national-level planning lens to help frame the G20’s report. The report builds directly off of the recommendations in USAID's Fighting Ebola with Information report managed by Merrick Schaefer and co-authored by Adele; and expands on that framework with inputs from 22 countries and organizations like the Global Digital Health Partnership, Global Fund, OECD, United Nations Children's Fund, and the World Health Organization.