GSK and Save the Children launched a $1 million Healthcare Innovation Award to identify and reward innovations in healthcare which have proven successful in reducing child deaths in developing countries.

From 27^th June – 26^th August, organisations from across the developing world can nominate examples of innovative healthcare approaches they have discovered or implemented. These approaches must have resulted in tangible improvements to under-5 child survival rates, be sustainable and have the potential to be scaled-up and replicated.

Co-chaired by Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK, and Justin Forsyth, CEO of Save the Children, the Judging Panel, made up of experts from the fields of public health, science and academia, will award $250,000 to the best healthcare innovation to further progress their work. An additional $750,000 will be made available for runners-up awards.

The award will also provide a platform for winning organisations to showcase their innovations and share information to enable others with an interest in improving healthcare to adapt and replicate successful interventions and create more positive change for children in their own country and beyond.

While good progress has been made in recent years, worldwide 6.9 million children every year still die before their fifth birthday. Often these children are in the most remote and marginalised communities and in order to bring life-saving healthcare to these hardest to reach children, ambitious new ideas and approaches are needed. 

Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK, said, “Often the best solutions to a particular challenge come from those living and working closest to it. We recognise this and we are committed to supporting those working in the world’s poorest countries to improve health outcomes. This award will identify the most effective ideas being put into practice in developing countries and, by providing much needed funding, will enable these innovations to be scaled-up to reduce childhood deaths and will inspire others in the process.”

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.  Save the Children works in more than 120 countries and saves children's lives, fights for their rights and helps them fulfil their potential.