African scientists gather for 15th Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Addis Ababa

The 15^th Grand Challenges Annual Meeting will take place on October 27– 30, 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, jointly hosted by the African Union, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health, the African Academy of Sciences, Grand Challenges Canada, the United States Agency for International Development, Wellcome and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As the world rallies to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, this year’s Grand Challenges will bring together African and global partners to celebrate innovations from the last decade and galvanize Africa’s scientific and political communities for the next.

The three-day event will be joined by government officials and leaders in science including Amir Aman, Minister of Health for Ethiopia and Jennifer Blanke, African Development Bank-Agriculture, Human and Social Development. Researchers, innovators and global partners will share their work, learn about cutting-edge advances, build collaborations and discuss areas of mutual interest in plenary sessions, spotlight conversations, scientific tracks, keynote remarks, roundtables, as well as formal and informal side meetings.

The sessions will place an emphasis on the importance of scientific collaborations in improving lives and creating sustainable economic growth and provide an opportunity to put science and innovation at the top of domestic agendas and secure the political and financial commitments needed to give everyone a chance at a healthy, productive life.

The Grand Challenges family of initiatives seeks to engage innovators from around the world to solve science, technology and innovation, health and developmental challenges. Grand Challenges initiatives are united by their focus on fostering innovation, directing research to where it will have the most impact, and serving those most in need.