The African Human Rights Coalition is pleased to advise that Dr. Coenie Louw, the founder of Gateway Health Institute and co-founder of the South African chapter of the African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC), is a winner of the Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Here is the Press Release which can be reproduced without further permission:-
Gateway Health Institute Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Grant for Groundbreaking Research in Global Health and Development
Pretoria – Gateway Health Institute announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Coenie Louw will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled “An Innovative Delivery Method for Amoxicillin”.
Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) funds individuals worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mold in how we solve persistent global health and development challenges.
Dr. Louw’s project is one of more than 50 Grand Challenges Explorations Round 14 grants announced by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
To receive funding, Dr. Louw and other Grand Challenges Explorations winners demonstrated in a two-page online application a bold idea in one of five critical global health and development topic areas that included new ways to measure fetal and infant brain development. The foundation will be accepting applications for the next GCE round in September 2015.
Dr Coenie Louw, the founder of Gateway Health Institute and co-founder of the South African chapter of the African Human Rights Coalition, will develop an innovative delivery method for amoxicillin used in the treatment of pneumonia in children. He will produce a an amoxicillin suspension for oral administration to infants and small children, that does not require water, that eliminates the risk for contamination by reconstitution of the antibiotic with dirty water and also eliminates the need for refrigeration of the reconstituted antibiotic.
This delivery method will remain chemically stable and will retain its therapeutic efficacy at very high temperatures for periods of up to two years, bringing renewed hope to many children around the world.
About Grand Challenges Explorations
Grand Challenges Explorations is a US$100 million initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Launched in 2008, over 1100 projects in more than 60 countries have received Grand Challenges Explorations grants. The grant program is open to anyone from any discipline and from any organization.The initiative uses and agile, accelerated grant- making process with short two-page online applications and no preliminary data required. Initial grants of US$100, 000 are awarded two times a year. Successful projects have the opportunity to receive follow-on grants of up to US$1 million.
About Gateway Health Institute
Founded in 2014 by Dr Coenie Louw, Gateway Health Institute focus on pressing global health and development issues. This includes HIV/AIDS, child and maternal health and nutrition. We are involved in education, research, mHealth development as well as various programs aimed at vulnerable and hard to reach populations such as people who use drugs. As a partner organization of the Africa Human Rights Coalition we work toward equitable access to healthcare for all people and a society free from stigma and discrimination.