Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation GCE Round 19: Wearables and Technology for Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Behavior Change

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is currently seeking applications for its round 19 “Wearables and Technology for Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Behavior Change”.

Deadline: 3 May 2017

The foundation seeks wearable and/or sensor technologies that will improve the health of mothers and newborns by:

• increasing uptake of healthy behaviors
• facilitating research on maternal and neonatal interventions in low-resource settings

Program Interventions

• Newborns
  • kangaroo mother care (KMC)
  • clean cord care
  • neonatal resuscitation
  • diagnosis and treatment of infection
• Mothers
  • prophylactic uterotonics
  • antenatal care
  • prevention and treatment of hypertensive disorders for mothers

Funding Information

Phase I projects have a term of 18 months beginning on the project start date. The amount awarded is up to $100,000 USD.

Eligibility Criteria

• GCE is open to both foreign and domestic organizations, including non-profit organizations, for-profit companies, international organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions.
• The foundation seeks proposals that:
  • Are rooted in authentic understanding of and experience in local contexts
  • Bridge the gaps between user need and demand with technology
  • Are forward-thinking, leveraging upcoming and future technological trends
• Funding Criteria:
  • Tracker of temperature and position that can stimulate KMC practice
  • Sensor for newborn that measures heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, apnea or more
  • Sensor on the infant that can alert the mother to infant sleep/wake state, hunger and activity
  • Wearable on an expectant mother that could measure and transmit data on blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, activity, sleep state and fetal heart rate
  • Patch that can measure metabolites in an infant transcutaneously including glucose, bilirubin, Na and Hb.
  • Wearable that will reinforce positive behavior in the mother in breastfeeding, language interaction, soothing behaviors
  • Sensor to facilitate handwashing or other infection prevention measures

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online via given website.

For more information, please visit Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.