Grand Challenges Canada

Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) is a Canadian nonprofit organization that uses a Grand Challenges model to fund solutions to critical health and development challenges in the developing world. Its mission is to use "integrated innovation" that combines scientific, business and social aspects to save and improve lives in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
The organization has supported over 1,000 projects in more than 80 countries, impacting 1.3 million lives. Conservative statistical projections suggest its activities will save up to 1.6 million lives and improve up to 42 million lives by 2030.
It is funded primarily by the Government of Canada, and hosted in the MaRS Discovery District by the University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History.
The creation of Grand Challenges Canada was based on the Grand Challenges in Global Health model of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, launched by Bill Gates in January 2003 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Peter A. Singer, CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, and Dr. Abdallah Daar, Chair of Grand Challenges Canada’s Scientific Advisory Board, sat on the scientific board.
In 2007, Singer wrote an op-ed in the National Post that made the argument for a parallel organization that would catalyze innovation from Canada and the developing world. This drew the attention of the Canadian government, leading to the creation of Grand Challenges Canada.
The organization was founded with CAD$225 million over 5 years from the 2008 Canadian federal budget to "support breakthrough research that addresses critical global health problems to bring lasting improvements to the health and lives of people in low-income countries." The 2008 Budget created the Development Innovation Fund, managed by a consortium comprising Grand Challenges Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the International Development Research Centre.
In June 2015, Global Affairs Canada announced an additional CAD$161 million in funding for the organization over 10 years through the government's Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
Innovations supported by Grand Challenges Canada include the Odon device, the Lucky iron fish, the Ovillanta, a Doppler fetal monitor that operates without electricity, a cheap and functional artificial knee joint, a sterile cover for hardware-store drills that transforms them into surgical instruments, a flocked swab to improve diarrhea diagnosis, a $5 safe birth toolkit, a 3-D printed, low-cost prosthetic hand, and a self-propelled powder to stop bleeding.
Programs.
Grand Challenges Canada supports a number of global health programs and initiatives:
Governance.
Grand Challenges Canada is governed by a Board of Directors and is guided by a Scientific Advisory Board. 