Duke Global Health Innovation Center

📢 We're Hiring! Join our team as a Communications Manager.

Why join us:
🌟 Innovative & inclusive culture
🌟 Hybrid work arrangement
🌟 Address critical global health challenges

🔗 Learn more & apply: https://lnkd.in/duvxKK9d

Partnership is at the heart of everything we do. Whether it's working with local innovators, national governments, students, or global health leaders, we believe the most transformative solutions emerge when we elevate and integrate diverse voices.

This year, we engaged 90 students across Duke University in experiential learning opportunities, provided 65 hours of career coaching, and supported research that's driving real-world health improvements.

Our 2024-2025 Duke Global Health Innovation Center + Innovations in Healthcare Annual Report celebrates the power of collaboration and the next generation of health leaders who are reshaping global health from the ground up.

Together, we're building a world where innovation improves health for all: https://duke.is/b/ymyw

Here's a sobering fact: Life-saving health innovations take 13.5 years to reach just 20% uptake in low- and middle-income countries.

People are dying waiting for solutions that already exist.

This innovation-to-impact gap isn't just a delay, it's deadly. And it's exactly what we're working to close at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare.

The gap is real. But it's closable. Learn more in our 2024-2025 Annual Report:

2024-2025 Annual Report – Duke Global Health Innovation Center 08Dec 2025 by Melissa Slogan Innovation to Impact: Our Year in Global Health July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 As we navigate a period of profound changes in health and healthcare globally, it is with great pride and gratitude that we share our 2024–2025 Annual Report, a reflection of the transformat...

When Marburg virus emerged in Rwanda in September 2024, the country's response was swift and effective: only 66 confirmed cases and 15 deaths, among the lowest mortality rates ever recorded in a Marburg outbreak.

This success didn't happen by accident.

Through the COVID Treatment QuickStart Consortium, we'd already been partnering with Rwanda to strengthen health systems and build preparedness infrastructure. When crisis hit, the partnerships, training, and groundwork were already in place.

As Rwanda's Minister of Health, Sabin Nsanzimana said: "The partnerships and preparedness that helped bring this Marburg outbreak to such a swift end saved many lives in Rwanda and helped protect the rest of the world from a potentially catastrophic deadly epidemic."

This is what pandemic preparedness looks like in action. Not just crisis response but building resilient health systems that can handle future threats.

Our 2024-2025 Duke Global Health Innovation Center + Innovations in Healthcare Annual Report explores how strategic partnerships today create life-saving responses tomorrow:

2024-2025 Annual Report – Duke Global Health Innovation Center 08Dec 2025 by Melissa Slogan Innovation to Impact: Our Year in Global Health July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 As we navigate a period of profound changes in health and healthcare globally, it is with great pride and gratitude that we share our 2024–2025 Annual Report, a reflection of the transformat...

The most transformative health innovations don't come from the top down. They come from the ground up.

In Kenya, a community health worker delivers lifesaving care door-to-door. In Cape Town, a Mentor Mother transforms HIV prenatal care. In rural Indonesia, health workers use data-driven tools to distribute essential medicines.

These aren't isolated stories. They represent the power of investing in local innovators who understand their communities better than anyone else.

Since 2016, our partnership with the Pfizer Foundation's Global Health Innovation Grants program has proven that when we trust local voices and provide the right support, the impact is extraordinary:

6+ million people with improved access to care
80,000+ health workers trained
1,800+ new points of care established

Our new annual report shows how supporting local innovation creates a ripple effect across continents. A breakthrough in one country informs similar efforts in another. Success strategies get adapted and scaled globally.

Because innovation belongs to everyone. Read the full story: https://duke.is/b/ymyw

The most promising health innovations emerge from local innovators who understand their communities' needs.

Yet they lack access to resources, networks, and scaling tools needed to maximize impact.

We're changing that. Learn more in our newly released Annual Report ⬇️

Artificial intelligence is transforming global health.

Through our AI Learning Lab partnership with The Pfizer Foundation, we're supporting six pioneering organizations using AI to address critical health challenges in low- and middle-income countries:

📱 Jacaranda Maternity: AI-powered maternal health support reaching 3+ million mothers via SMS

🔬 Simprints: Biometric AI creating 65,000+ digital identities to close vaccination gaps

🩺 BIVE - Fundación Vive con Bienestar: Doubling early HPV diagnosis rates in rural communities

💊 Munai: AI-powered tools improving antibiotic protocol adherence by 20%

What sets these innovations apart? They're community-led, locally contextualized, and designed to work within existing infrastructure constraints.

Read our 2024-2025 Annual Report to see how we're ensuring AI serves everyone, not just those in resource-rich settings: https://duke.is/b/ymyw

🌍 At the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare, we believe everyone deserves to thrive.

Today, we're proud to share our 2024-2025 Annual Report, a reflection of what's possible when innovation meets partnership, and when local voices lead global change.

This year, through our partnerships worldwide, we've helped to:

🔸 Improve access to quality health services for over 11 million people
🔸 Train more than 80,000 health workers
🔸 Establish over 1,800 new points of care
🔸 Support test-and-treat programs across 776 health facilities in 7 countries

From accelerating biomedical innovation access in Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa to pioneering AI-driven solutions for maternal health and vaccine delivery, our work demonstrates that evidence-based solutions, when scaled effectively, can change lives.

Explore the full report to see how we're bridging the innovation-to-impact gap:

2024-2025 Annual Report – Duke Global Health Innovation Center 08Dec 2025 by Melissa Slogan Innovation to Impact: Our Year in Global Health July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 As we navigate a period of profound changes in health and healthcare globally, it is with great pride and gratitude that we share our 2024–2025 Annual Report, a reflection of the transformat...

Exciting news: The ALIGN Consortium is now on Substack! 📢

We've just published the first post in our 6-part series exploring the real challenges of innovation introduction and our approach to solving them.

In this series, you'll get an inside look at:
🔹 The barriers preventing innovations from reaching those who need them most
🔹 Our evidence-based strategies for accelerating adoption

See how we're working to close the gap between breakthrough innovations and real-world impact. 🔗 Read the first post: https://duke.is/6/mg8u

Subscribe on Substack to join us as we share learnings, insights, and progress throughout this journey.

What innovation challenges are you seeing in your work? Let's discuss in the comments. 👇

Keprecon; ENDA Santé; South African Medical Research Council

Introducing ALIGN Strengthening the pathways for health innovations to better reach people who need it most

We're proud to share that our Founding Director, Krishna Udayakumar, has been appointed as Duke University's Chief Global Strategist. In this role, Krishna will lead the implementation of Duke's new global engagement strategy, working with international partners to advance research, education, and partnerships worldwide.

This appointment reflects our commitment to intentional global engagement and addressing pressing challenges across borders.

We're also pleased to announce that our Senior Director, Strategy, Management, and Partnerships, Lisa Bourget, will serve as Senior Director, Global Partnerships and Innovation across the university. Lisa will build upon her work to advance Duke's global partnerships.

Krishna and Lisa will continue their work at Innovations in Healthcare and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center while guiding Duke's strategic direction for global innovation and collaboration.

We're excited to support this initiative and look forward to deepening our impact through strengthened global partnerships. Congratulations, Krishna and Lisa!

Learn more:

Provost Appoints Leadership to Spearhead Duke’s Global Strategy | Office of the Provost Provost Alec D.

📚 New Evidence Synthesis for Innovation Introduction

The ALIGN Consortium’s working paper offers a practical, evidence-informed roadmap for strengthening health innovation systems in LMICs.

Drawing on published research and implementation experience, it explores:

🔍 Why introduction decisions break down
🔍 What pillars can reinforce policy, financing, and advocacy enablers
🔍 How countries can adapt existing structures for better outcomes

A must-read for anyone working on health systems strengthening or innovation policy.

📘 Access the full paper: https://duke.is/6/s97d


South African Medical Research Council; Keprecon; ENDA Santé

Strengthening Health Innovation Introduction – Duke Global Health Innovation Center 29Oct 2025 by Melissa Slogan Strengthening Health Innovation Introduction Policy, financing, and advocacy enablers of effective, efficient innovation introduction Health innovations hold immense promise for improving lives, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet many of these in...

We Care Solar is officially an awardee for Action for Women’s Health, a global open call funded by Pivotal Ventures and managed by LeverforChange!

More than 4,000 organizations from 119 countries applied. After a rigorous peer and expert review process, just over 80 organizations were selected. We are deeply proud to stand among them.

With this support, we can accelerate our mission in countries where the need is urgent, strengthening maternal health systems and ensuring health workers have the power and tools they need to save lives.

And yet, this is only the beginning.

We cannot wait to move forward with more resources and a renewed focus on the communities who've trusted us from the start.

Read more: https://leverforchange.org/article/news/afwh-awardees-announcement/

Innovation introduction isn’t just technical. It’s strategic.

ALIGN’s new working paper offers a roadmap for better decisions, faster impact.

📘 https://duke.is/6/s97d

Evidence for Action
The ALIGN Consortiumhas just released a powerful new working paper: “Strengthening Health Innovation Introduction.”
Learn why strategic health innovations often fail to reach those who need them most and what it takes to change that.
With insights from Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa, the paper outlines four system-enhancing pillars that can transform how countries prioritize, finance, and introduce innovations.
📘 Read the full paper and join the conversation on building more effective, efficient, and equitable health systems. https://duke.is/6/s97d