The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is pleased to announce the Accelerating Innovations Challenge to address Heavy Menstrual Bleeding in Women in Low-Resource Settings.

The Challenge 

§  They invite research proposals on HMB based on the clinical definition that focus on:

§  Biological Mechanisms – Advancing understanding of the fundamental biology of HMB to identify targets for innovative diagnostics and treatments.

§  Epidemiology and Impact – Assessing disease burden, patterns, and impact on gynaecological health and quality of life in women in low-resource settings.

§  Measurement and Standardization – Developing and validating improved methods for measuring HMB and establishing standardized research protocols to enable consistent and comparable studies across diverse populations and healthcare systems.

§  Innovative Diagnostics – Proposing new technology or piloting the use of existing technology to identify causes of HMB in low resource settings, including the use of artificial intelligence. Technology should be easy to use and affordable.

§  Treatment and Access – Evaluating the effectiveness, acceptability, and ways to increase access to treatment including hormonal contraceptives, to inform patient-centered care in low-resource settings.

Funding Information

§  They will consider proposals for awards of up to 150,000 USD for each project, with a grant term of up to 2 years.

Eligibility Criteria 

§  This initiative is open to nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, international organizations, government agencies and academic institutions. They particularly encourage applications involving projects led by women or from women-led organizations and applications from institutions based in low- and middle-income countries.

§  They seek proposals that:

§  Focus on original research and development

§  Focus on the needs of women in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Pakistan. While researchers may be based globally, study populations (for original data collection) or intended beneficiaries (for new diagnostics and treatments) must be from these regions.

Ineligibility Criteria

§  They will not fund proposals that:

§  Do not focus on HMB – Even if related to gynecological conditions that are associated with HMB, such as infertility or pelvic pain.

§  Are not research. Proposals to fund the expansion of routine services, or train clinical service providers, for example, will not be funded.

For more information, visit Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.