Think you have the next big idea to transform the health of mothers around the world?
ABC News’ Be the Change: Save a Life and the Duke Global Health Institute are launching an open challenge for university students, designed to surface and celebrate emerging innovations in maternal health care, and to provide a launch pad to make those ideas a reality.
Around the world, 350,000 women continue to die each year of complications due to childbirth. In the vast majority of cases, they’re dying of preventable causes: severe bleeding, infection, obstructed labor and a host of other problems that can be averted with skilled care and improved technology. We believe that somewhere amidst the deep pools of knowledge, creativity and passion at work in today’s universities is a new social innovation to improve health care delivery, an innovative piece of technology designed for low-tech clinics and home delivery, or something altogether new and life-saving.
Whether you’re an undergraduate, a graduate student or a professional student, we’re inviting you to share a short video showcasing your idea, and how you plan to address one of the many causes that lead to high maternal mortality rates or lower quality of life for pregnant and postnatal women. And we’re challenging you to do it in 5 minutes or less.
All submissions must be received by midnight on April 29, 2011 to be considered. CLICK HERE for more on submission requirements, eligibility and judging criteria.
The prize? One outstanding individual or team will win $10,000 and the opportunity to work with experts to develop and test the design or idea in the field. The winner will also be invited to present his or her idea before global health experts at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual meeting in November in Montreal.
Together, we’ll help put an end to the countless unnecessary deaths of mothers worldwide, and introduce America to a new generation of innovators and problem-solvers.
For more on maternal health and Challenge FAQs, CLICK HERE. Please direct any questions about the Challenge or submission form to ABCSaveALife@Gmail.com.