Our Global Challenge Research Themes

An illustration of a magnifying glass cantered over a medical cross, with various stylized virus particles in different colours and sizes scattered around the edges. The magnifying glass suggests an examination or search for medical information or health-related research.

COVID-19 has highlighted fundamental problems with our capital-intensive, hospital-centric model of healthcare. One of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all by 2030; in order to achieve this, health systems will have to change how they connect with patients and communities.

To ensure every person on Earth has equal access to the highest standards of preventive health and clinical care, a coordinated and data-enabled approach is necessary – as are new models of collaboration.

The Global Challenge Research Fund will focus on two critical, intersecting, areas fundamental to this reformed approach to healthcare:

Sustainability And Health : The Future Of Green Healthcare

Climate change is one of the major threats to global public health, with urgent calls issued by the WHO for global climate action to promote health and build climate-resilient and sustainable health systems.

Modern health systems are contributing to significant environmental pollution, generating 5% of global carbon emissions, including through the end-to-end supply chain from product manufacturing, procurement, distribution, use, waste creation and its disposal.

Sustainability in healthcare is critical if we are to ensure that healthcare systems can provide effective and efficient services to individuals and communities without negatively impacting the environment or depleting resources.

The Prevention Agenda : Reimagining Health Systems

The majority of the average person’s health needs during their lifetime are related to preventing disease and preserving long-term well-being. Despite this nations, from health systems to policy-makers, tend to focus on immediate outcomes and short-term gains.

Prevention and health system reform are critical components of achieving, sustainable healthcare, thriving economies and prosperous communities.

Implementing reforms that prioritise prevention, such as expanding preventative healthcare services, and increasing health literacy, can have a positive impact on populations, as well as opening the door to new technologies and health innovations.

A graphic with four elements representing environmental data. On the left, a plant grows from soil with an upward trending line graph. In the centre, an eye encircles a globe. Below it, a cloud with arrows points to a bar chart. On the right, a plant sits beside an open book. The image conveys themes of ecology, data analysis, and global environmental monitoring.