Grand Challenges Nigeria (GCNg) is pleased to announce the selection of ten innovation projects for seed grant funding under its inaugural Request for Proposals (RFP) themed “Advancing Innovative Solutions for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health.”

Following the official launch of the Grand Challenges Nigeria initiative in November 2024   and the announcement of the RFP, hundreds of entries were received and reviewed through a rigorous, merit-based process to select the qualifying projects. Each selected project addresses pressing health challenges affecting mothers and children and represents a bold, scalable solution anchored in local context and led by Nigerian institutions and innovators with potential for scale and adoption beyond Nigeria.

“The selected projects demonstrate the power of Nigerian-led innovation to solve our most pressing public health challenges. From AI-driven diagnostics to community-embedded digital tools and locally sourced medical formulations, these initiatives reflect the ingenuity and impact orientation of our local innovation ecosystem,” said Professor Folake Samuel, Program Director and Technical Lead, Grand Challenges Nigeria.

“Africa’s health future lies in the hands of African innovators. Through Grand Challenges Nigeria, we are enabling researchers to lead transformative solutions rooted in context and evidence. By funding these 10 innovators, we’re not just supporting projects; we’re investing in a generation of scientists who will define the continent’s health priorities and lead lasting change. Grand Challenges Africa, a program of the Science of Africa Foundation, provides technical support to African governments so they can join the Global Grand Challenges Network in seeking and seeding innovations. GC Africa was thrilled to support the birth of Grand Challenges Nigeria and the selection of these innovators” Added Dr Evelyn Gitau, Chief Scientific Officer at the Science for Africa Foundation.

Each of the ten grantees will receive up to 60 million Naira for a 12 to 15-month implementation period, with access to technical support, visibility, and a collaborative learning platform coordinated by GCNg. These projects are expected to generate evidence of effectiveness and viable models for integration into Nigeria’s health and development systems.

“This is a proud moment for Nigerian science and innovation,” stated Professor Salisu Abubakar, President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria. “We are unlocking pathways to reduce maternal and child mortality, promote data-driven decision-making, and build sustainable solutions tailored for Nigerian communities.  Grand Challenges Nigeria grantees will also join the Global Grand Challenges network of grantees to learn with and from and strengthening a community of innovators working together to solve local, regional and global challenges.”

The selected innovators and their projects are:

1. Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau State – Prof. Stephen Oguche: Point-Of-Care Biomarkers and Next Generation Sequencing to Guide Neonatal Sepsis Management in Low-Resource Settings.
2. Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State – Prof. Ezekiel Akinkunmi: Development of O-SEE-MUM Oil gels for umbilical care to prevent and treat omphalitis in Nigeria.
3. Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State – Dr. Chidinma Akanazu: Mobicare 360 – A Digital-Community Hybrid Model on Maternal and Child Health outcomes in Nigeria.
4. Maternal and Reproductive Health Research Collective, Lagos State – Prof. Bosede Afolabi: MamaLink Project – Linking Slum-Dwelling Pregnant Women to Life saving Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care.
5. Institute of Child Health, University of Ibadan, Oyo State – Dr. Adebolajo Adeyemo: Identification of Birth Defects in Newborn Children – Task Shifting to Primary Healthcare Workers.
6. Babcock University, Ogun State – Dr. Victor Ayeni: Effect Of N-Acetylcysteine on Outcomes of Perinatal Asphyxia – A Multicentre, Double-Blind Randomised Controlled Trial.
7. Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State – Uchechukwu Chukwuocha: Interactive Digital Solution for Self-Risk Assessment and Support to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Nigeria (MaternAid-360).
8. University of Lagos, Lagos State – Dr. Babasola Okusanya: Development of Antenatal Risk Prediction Model for Preeclampsia with Severe Features in Lagos, Nigeria – A Prospective Cohort Study (PreSev Study).
9. Centre for Family Health Initiative, FCT Abuja – Krystal Chinenye Anyanwu: Building Innovative Responses to Transform Healthcare (BIRTH).
10. Federal Medical Centre, Abia State – Dr. Ugochukwu Onyeonoro: Cervical Cancer Screening at Scale for Nigerian Mothers: AI for Non-Expert Primary Healthcare Workers.

“The Ministry is proud to co-anchor this groundbreaking initiative. Grand Challenges Nigeria represents a bold commitment to science, technology, and innovation as a driver of national development. These selected projects reflect the kind of local ingenuity and applied research that we need to transform our health and food systems and deliver impact at scale,” said Adebayo A. Adeyemi, Director, Health and Bio-medical Sciences Department, Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.

These innovations are expected to contribute directly to Nigeria’s commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals and the Renewed Hope Agenda for health equity and maternal and child survival.

“When we back bold ideas with belief and resources, we awaken the genius of our nation. These innovations are seeds of a healthier Nigeria - locally grown, scientifically grounded, and globally relevant. This is what it means to trust our own and build from the inside out, because Nigeria’s greatest breakthroughs will not come from abroad; they will rise from within,” said Mrs. Uju Rochas-Anwukah, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health.

Grand Challenges Nigeria is part of global network of Grand Challenges supported by funders such as the Gates Foundation and coordinated to foster local innovations for global good.

NOTES FOR EDITOR

About the Grand Challenges Nigeria (GCNg)
Grand Challenges Nigeria (GCNg) is a national platform within the global Grand Challenges family that convenes government, industry, funders, nonprofits, innovators, and local communities to identify Nigeria’s most urgent health and food security challenges and direct innovation resources toward scalable, high-impact solutions. Anchored by the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), GCNg fosters inclusive, cross-sector collaboration to define priorities, fund promising ideas, and support their growth beyond pilots to achieve national impact. GCNg mobilizes critical resources such as funding, technology, and expertise to ensure that locally grounded innovations translate into systems-level change.

GCNg is co-chaired by the Office of the Vice President, the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, and is guided by a multisectoral Advisory Board of partners including the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Aliko Dangote Foundation, Dalberg Advisors, and FHI 360. https://www.grandchallengesnigeria.org/

About the Grand Challenges Network of Partners

The Grand Challenges network of partners supports innovative solutions to "Grand Challenges" in health and development with a vision for a world where local, regional, and global innovation ecosystems are thriving and fostering solutions in the places where they will have the most impact. Together, Grand Challenges (GC) partners have invested US $1.6 billion, awarding 4000 grants to a diverse pool of scientists and researchers in 124 countries.  https://www.grandchallenges.org/

About the Office of the Vice President (OVP)

The Office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides strategic leadership, coordination, and oversight for national development priorities across key sectors. Through multi-sectoral collaborations and high-level policy direction, the OVP plays a catalytic role in advancing initiatives that promote inclusive economic growth, human capital development, and national security. In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda, the OVP works closely with ministries, state governments, development partners, and civil society to translate policy into measurable results, especially in critical areas like public health, food security, nutrition, innovation, education, and job creation. The Vice President also chairs key national councils and intergovernmental platforms, ensuring whole-of-government accountability and alignment on pressing development challenges.

About the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology (FMIST)
The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology (FMIST) plays a pivotal role in Nigeria’s national development by fostering collaboration among all players of the science, technology and innovation system including government and non-government agencies, State Ministries, development partners and other stakeholders to leverage science technology and innovation (STI). FMIST’s mission focuses on enabling inclusive economic growth, strengthening national security, enhancing agricultural productivity, improving infrastructure, and advancing industrialization and innovation. By driving STI development and fostering strategic collaborations, FMIST aims to position Nigeria as a global leader in science, technology and innovation laying the foundation for sustainable socio-economic progress. https://www.scienceandtech.gov.ng/about-us/

About the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN)
The Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN) is a professional, non-governmental association that has been dedicated to the advancement of nutrition, public health, and development in Nigeria since 1963 by promoting research, learning, and collaboration with multisectoral stakeholders. It is the largest gathering of stakeholders in Nutrition in Nigeria. The vision of the NSN is to promote sound research and learning; build skills, competencies, and capacity; enhance and improve professionalism; collaborate with relevant government MDAs, development partners and private sector foundations or corporate foundations; create awareness through high-level advocacy; and create an enabling environment that fosters innovations and entrepreneurship to create disruptive market solutions through information on and exposure to accessible grants, research outputs, and industry collaborations. https://nutritionnigeria.org/

About the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI)
The Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) is the only Postharvest research institute in the country, NSPRI contributes to national and regional food security through its mandate of improving bulk storage of agricultural commodities, crop value addition and safe handling of crops and products from farm to fork to reduce postharvest losses. https://www.nspri.gov.ng/index.php/en/

About the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR)
The mission of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) is to conduct research into diseases of public health importance in Nigeria and develop structures for the dissemination of research findings while providing the enabling environment and facilities for health research and training in cooperation with the federal and state ministries of health and in collaboration with universities, allied institutions and organized private sector nationally and internationally. https://nimr.gov.ng/

About Aliko Dangote Foundation
Aliko Dangote Foundation is the private charitable foundation of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON, Group President, Dangote Group of Companies, established with a mission to enhance opportunities for social change through strategic investments that improve health and wellbeing, promote quality education, and broaden economic empowerment opportunities. Incorporated in 1994, the Foundation has become the largest private Foundation in sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest endowment by a single African donor, following an endowment of the equivalent of $1.25 billion in 2014. The Board of the Foundation was reconstituted in the same year of the endowment, and a new management was appointed in January 2015 to develop and drive a new strategic focus for the Foundation. The Foundation represents first and foremost Aliko Dangote’s desire to give back to society, and secondly to establish an enduring legacy of charity, socio-economic development and human advancement inspired by his parentage, nurtured by him, and carried into posterity by his children. The Foundation currently defines its strategic focus along four thematic areas: Health & Nutrition, Education, Economic Empowerment, and Humanitarian Relief. www.dangote.com/foundation

About Science for Africa 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. https://scienceforafrica.foundation/

About Dalberg Advisors

Dalberg Advisors is a strategic advisory firm that combines private sector strategy skills and analytical capabilities with deep knowledge and networks across emerging and frontier markets. Dalberg works actively across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to help clients achieve their goals, and has over 500 employees across 25 locations in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. Dalberg Advisors is part of the Dalberg Group, which comprises a collection of mission-driven enterprises—Dalberg Advisors, Dalberg Data Insights, Dalberg Design, Dalberg Media, Dalberg Implement, Dalberg Research—and the not-for-profit, Dalberg Catalyst. https://dalberg.com/who-we-are/

About FHI 360 
FHI 360 is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally led solutions for health, education, nutrition, and economic development. With a presence in over 60 countries and a team of more than 4,000 experts, FHI 360 brings together deep expertise and diverse perspectives to address the world’s most pressing challenges. The organization champions access and equity for all, leveraging science, research, and partnerships to ensure people everywhere can live full, healthy lives. Alive & Thrive, of FHI 360, has since 2009 worked to save lives and improve nutrition outcomes for women and children through evidence-based programming. In Nigeria, Alive & Thrive has supported government efforts since 2016, focusing on maternal, infant, and young child nutrition (MIYCN) and the scale-up of multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS). The initiative employs social and behaviour change, systems strengthening, strategic use of data, interpersonal communication, and policy advocacy to promote uptake, enhance service delivery, and build capacity within government and community health systems. https://www.fhi360.org/

Media Contact:

Godwin A. Bamsa

Senior Programme Manager, Grand Challenges Nigeria

[email protected]; +234 907 301 8659