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.
