Manila, Philippines – More than 400 public health innovators submitted entries for the first World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Innovation Challenge: Innovation for the Future of Public Health. The Innovation Challenge aimed to identify solutions to better the health and well-being of people in the Region which includes 37 countries and areas across Asia and the Pacific.
Judges comprising WHO staff and industry experts selected 29 organizations as the inaugural Innovation Challenge winners for their proposed solutions to health challenges. Winning solutions include water pumps that do not need electricity, an app to screen for stroke and a COVID-19 emergency chatbot.
The winning organizations will showcase their solutions at the 2022 Western Pacific Innovation Forum: Scaling for Impact on 28–29 April.
“I am pleased to congratulate the first WHO Western Pacific Region Innovation Challenge winners and recognize them for their visions, passion, knowledge and experience in understanding the tackling the health challenges in our Region,” said Dr Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific
Innovation in the WHO Western Pacific Region
As part of the vision outlined in For the Future: Towards the Healthiest and Safest Region WHO in the Western Pacific is working to embed innovation in its organizational culture and to leverage and scale up health innovations across its 37 countries and areas.
“The Western Pacific Region, home to more than 1.9 billion people, is faced with increasing health challenges, making ‘business as usual’ no longer an option,” said Dr Kasai. “Therefore, we must reprioritize our public health issues, reoptimize systems, and continue to develop creative ways of doing things.”
The call for entries to the Innovation Challenge was launched in September 2021, with the aim of bringing together innovators with a profound understanding of the health needs in the Western Pacific in order to create an ecosystem of innovations that are sustainable, cost-effective and inclusive.
The Innovation Challenge was open to public health innovators from all WHO Member States. Organizations with solutions and investments in the Western Pacific Region were particularly encouraged to submit their work. Individuals and organizations submitted pilot-tested solutions in five categories: COVID-19 innovation, universal health coverage, health security and emergencies, healthy environments and populations, and disease elimination and control.
Second WHO Western Pacific Innovation Forum
Media and members of the public are invited to join the two-day virtual WHO Western Pacific Innovation Forum from 28–29 April to hear from experts in public health, innovation and policy from across the Region.
The first day will focus on problem-solving and explore a grassroots approach to public health innovation. Speakers, including the 29 Innovation Challenge winners, will discuss ways to innovate in health-care policy, cervical cancer prevention and treatment, digital technologies, and medical resources for vulnerable populations, among others.
The second day will explore government initiatives to strengthen national health systems through innovation. The discussions aim to answer questions such as: How are health ministries institutionalizing and scaling up health innovation, and what more can be done in the Region? Public health leaders from the Region will also join round-table discussions about community-based adaptation to health challenges, ways for governments to build systems for innovation, as well as techniques to evaluate, regulate and implement innovative solutions at scale.
Notes to editors:
Winners of the 2022 WHO Western Pacific Innovation Challenge:
- Beyond Essential Systems, Australia
- The Fred Hollows Foundation, Australia
- ThinkPlace Pty. Ltd., Australia
- University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
- Monash University, Australia
- The University of Melbourne, Australia
- Innovative Support to Emergencies Diseases and Disasters, Cambodia
- SanteSuite, Inc., Canada
- School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, China
- BlueCity, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Fuwai Hospital, China
- Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR (China)
- CarbGeM Inc., Japan
- K-three Inc., Japan
- Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia
- Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
- AINQA Health Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia
- Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
- AI4GOV in partnership with the Department of Health, Philippines
- CP Health Innovations Inc., Philippines
- Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI), Philippines
- Health Futures Foundation, Inc., Philippines
- Department of Health, Health Promotion Bureau in collaboration with AHA! Behavioral Design, Philippines
- FHI 360 (TB Innovations and Health Systems Strengthening Project), Philippines
- Seoul 50 Plus Foundation of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Republic of Korea
- Bot MD, Singapore
- Vital Strategies Health Systems (Asia Pacific) Limited, Singapore
- PATH in Southeast Asia, Viet Nam
Learn more about their innovations at: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/initiatives/innovation-for-health-impact/innovation-challenge
The Innovation Challenge winners are solely responsible for their contributions and views. They do not necessarily reflect those of WHO. In no event shall WHO be responsible for the accuracy of information shared by any of the participants.
For more information about innovation initiatives at the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, visit: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/initiatives/innovation-for-health-impact/
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The WHO Western Pacific Region is home to more than 1.9 billion people across 37 countries and areas in Asia and the Pacific: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, France (which has responsibility for French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna), Hong Kong SAR (China), Japan, Kiribati, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Macao SAR (China), Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (which has responsibility for Pitcairn Islands), the United States of America (which has responsibility for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam), Vanuatu, and Viet Nam.