What is Nexa?

Nexa is a global climate and health initiative co-led by Grand Challenges Canada (in partnership with the Government of Canada) and the Science for Africa Foundation, supported by a consortium of partners including the Sanofi Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Fund for Innovation in Development, the Global Grand Challenges Network, and Arm Limited.

Nexa backs bold, locally led innovations that help health workers, communities, and health systems anticipate and adapt to climate-related health threats — specifically mosquito-borne infections, extreme heat, and poor air quality. It funds both climate-informed early warning and monitoring systems and climate-responsive patient care delivery, including climate-smart diagnostics. 

How Nexa Was Developed

Nexa’s funding priorities came directly from the communities most affected by climate-driven health threats. The process included:

• A global climate and health survey launched in January 2025, gathering input from over 6,400 health and humanitarian workers in 107 countries — the largest survey of its kind ever conducted
• A 22-member Expert Panel from 14 countries that reviewed and validated the survey findings
• An ecosystem analysis drawing on 100+ climate and health innovations funded through the Grand Challenges Network and nearly 800 applications from GCC’s Stars in Global Health funding call
• Input from a diverse group of technical partners and funders who helped shape the program’s direction

This process led directly to Nexa’s funding focus: the three hazards (mosquito-borne infections, extreme heat, poor air quality) and the central gap — local health actors without the tools to act on climate-driven risk signals.

The Problem

Climate change is creating new health threats and making existing ones worse while adding pressure to already strained health systems. The biggest concerns include:

• Shifting patterns of mosquito-borne infections as rising temperatures and changing rainfall affect how diseases spread
• Extreme heat and poor air quality events that increase both immediate and long-term health harms

These risks fall hardest on vulnerable groups: pregnant women, people with chronic illness, children, the elderly, and communities with limited access to healthcare.

The key barrier: Local health actors are insufficiently equipped to anticipate and respond to climate-driven health risks. This gap persists because actionable climate–health intelligence is not routinely and reliably available or usable locally, decision triggers and protocols are not embedded in workflows, and fit-for-context tools and delivery capacity are often unreliable, especially under climate stress.
 

The Challenge Statement

We seek bold, innovative solutions that enable local health actors to turn climate-driven health risk signals into timely health service delivery action, reducing health harms from mosquito-borne infections, extreme heat, and poor air quality.

What We’re Looking For

Nexa funds innovations designed to address a health impact of climate change, where:

• The health issue is caused or significantly influenced by climate risks, and
• Climate change as a risk multiplier is central to how the innovation is designed, built, and deployed.

Your innovation should be climate-integrated (a health solution fundamentally re-engineered for climate conditions) or climate-centred (created because of a climate-driven health problem). For full definitions, see the Our Investment Approach page at grandchallenges.ca

Applications must directly address at least one of the following two areas:

• Climate-informed early warning and monitoring systems
• Climate-responsive patient care delivery

Priority Health Outcomes

• The priority health outcomes for this challenge include improved health access or health outcomes for any of the following climate-sensitive health conditions –
• Mosquito-borne infections: malaria, dengue
• Chronic non-communicable disease: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and chronic kidney disease
• Pregnancy-related outcomes: hypertension, gestational diabetes, heat stress

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Who Can Apply

Any incorporated organisation is eligible, including companies, social enterprises, NGOs, non-profits, for-profit organisations, and research or academic institutions. Individuals, sole proprietorships, unincorporated trusts, partnerships, and UN agencies are not eligible.

For PoC funding: your organisation must be incorporated in Africa or Brazil, and the innovation must be implemented there.

For TTS funding: your organisation can be incorporated anywhere in the world, as long as the innovation is implemented in an eligible country.

Innovations must be at minimum “community linked” — meaning there is a local presence, and the affected community has been meaningfully engaged. Nexa strongly favours innovations that are community-owned or community-led.

Proof of Concept vs. Transition to Scale

Proof of Concept (PoC) is for early-stage ideas being tested in the real world for the first time. You do not need prior evidence — Nexa invests in helping you generate it.

Transition to Scale (TTS) is for innovations that already have strong proof-of-concept evidence and are ready for broader implementation. If you don’t have sufficient and relevant evidence yet, you are strongly advised not to apply for TTS.

How Applications Are Reviewed

Over 80% of applications are declined at the initial innovation screen because they don’t closely align with the funding focus. Reading the full funding opportunity carefully before applying is essential.

Proof of Concept — review stages:

• Eligibility screening (August 2026)
• Innovation screen: Nexa staff review for relevance to the funding focus and genuine innovation (Aug–Oct 2026)
• Peer review: shortlisted applications reviewed by an external expert panel (Nov–Dec 2026)
• Selection and approvals (Jan–Feb 2027)
• Grant negotiations (Feb–May 2027)

Transition to Scale — review stages:

• Eligibility screening (August 2026)
• Stage 1 — Innovation screen: Nexa partner staff review for relevance, innovation, and readiness to scale
• Stage 2 — Peer review: shortlisted applications are invited to submit a full Stage 2 application, reviewed by an external expert panel
• Partner due diligence and additional approvals steps follow

What Reviewers Look For

At the innovation screen, reviewers check whether your application:

• Aligns with the areas of focus in the Funding Opportunity
• Addresses a relevant priority health outcome
• Is designed with the needs of the affected population in mind
• Qualifies as a climate-driven health innovation under Nexa’s definition
• Presents a genuine improvement over current approaches
• (For TTS only) Has sufficient proof-of-concept evidence and a realistic path to scale

If your application progresses to peer review, external experts will assess innovation, potential impact, execution plan, and project team. They will look closely at community connection, sustainability, and — for TTS — evidence of impact and potential for policy or systems-level change.

Applicants who reach peer review will receive written feedback from the panel. No individualised feedback is provided at the innovation screen stage.

Eligible Countries

Proof of Concept

Africa: All 54 African countries are eligible. Your organisation must be incorporated in Africa. Latin America & Caribbean: Brazil only. Your organisation must be incorporated in Brazil.

Transition to Scale

Africa: All 54 African countries are eligible. Your organisation can be incorporated anywhere.

Latin America & Caribbean: 28 countries are eligible — Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Venezuela. Your organization can be incorporated anywhere.

Can I Apply in French?

Yes. Applications are accepted in English or French. Language quality will not disadvantage non-native speakers unless it materially affects clarity.

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About the Co-Leads

Grand Challenges Canada

Grand Challenges Canada is one of the world’s leading impact-first investors. With support from the Government of Canada and other partners, it funds bold ideas with the potential to save and improve lives in underserved communities. Over the past 15 years, GCC has invested in more than 1,600 unique innovations across 100+ countries. Learn more at grandchallenges.ca.

Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation)

The SFA Foundation is a pan-African, non-profit, and public charity organisation that supports, strengthens, and promotes science and innovation in Africa. The SFA Foundation serves the African research ecosystem by funding excellent ideas in research and innovation, enabling interdisciplinary collaborations, and building and reinforcing environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and produce quality research that generates new, locally relevant knowledge.

Our Partners

Nexa is co-led by Grand Challenges Canada and the Science for Africa Foundation, with support from: Wellcome Trust, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Sanofi Foundation, Fund for Innovation in Development, Global Grand Challenges Network, and Arm Limited.

Nexa also works alongside active Grand Challenges programs in Botswana, Brazil, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa.