SIHI Uganda innovation part of second prize awarded by UNICEF and UNDP’s “Big Think Challenge”
The joint UNICEF/UNDP “Big Think Challenge” aimed to identify innovative solutions that accelerate progress to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Over 190 proposals were submitted and evaluated, and on 7 February, five finalists showcased their winning ideas before a panel of judges, which included Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, and Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator.
As UNICEF and UNDP are both co-sponsors of TDR, which helped found the Social Innovation in Health Initiative (SIHI), the three organizations proposed to work with the SIHI Uganda hub, which will bring expertise in behavioral sciences towards strengthening public-private linkages to improve health and survival of young children.
“Our goal is to increase and improve equitable access to quality health services for children by strengthening public-private partnerships in high child-mortality countries,” said Debra Jackson, senior health advisor at UNICEF’s Implementation Research and Delivery Science Unit.
“It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes an ecosystem to scale an innovation. That is why I am happy to see that TDR, UNICEF and UNDP are highlighting the role of the private sector in child health in low- and middle-income countries”
Phyllis Awor
Makerere University’s School of Public Health
Specifically, the SIHI innovation in Uganda that was included in the proposal is “ Drug Shop Integrated Management of Childhood Illness,” managed by Phyllis Awor of Makerere University’s School of Public Health, who leads the SIHI Uganda hub.
“It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes an ecosystem to scale an innovation. That is why I am happy to see that TDR, UNICEF and UNDP are highlighting the role of the private sector in child health in low- and middle-income countries,” Awor said. “Over the past 10 years, our research has shown that introducing integrated management of childhood illnesses in the private sector contributes to improved child health outcomes. We now need to bring our heads and resources together, for the scale up of this project.”
UNDP through the Access and Delivery Partnership, UNICEF and SIHI Uganda will build upon lessons learnt in engaging the private sector, and the US$100 000 award will serve as a catalytic fund to conduct preliminary studies on private sector engagement.
SIHI is supported by TDR, and additional funding is provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).