By Joseph Odoi
Dr Gloria Seruwagi, a Lecturer at Makerere University with expertise in sociobehavioural sciences, global health and international development, has been selected as Judge for a multi-million-pound global innovation challenge. This is according to a press statement issued by Trinity Challenge in the United Kingdom.
The Trinity Challenge is a global coalition of over 40 members, from across academia, private and public organisations and charities, committed to bringing together the best thinking, capabilities and tools in data and analytics to address future pandemic outbreaks. The coalition is united by the common aim of better protecting the world against health emergencies, using data-driven research and analytics. Some of the Coalition members include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, University of Cambridge, Aviva, Brunswick, Google, Facebook, Imperial College London, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), GSK and Microsoft among others.
Dr. Gloria Seruwagi, who is also Team Leader at The Centre for Health and Social Economic Improvement (CHASE-i), will join a global expert panel of judges awarding over £10m to innovators with solutions for future health emergencies. This year’s Trinity Challenge is on “How can data and analytics be used to better identify, respond to, and recover from global health emergencies?”
The Judges
In assembling its judging panel the Trinity Challenge looked for experts and leaders in the fields of technology, analytics and artificial intelligence, public health, epidemiology, investments, non-profit and social sectors.
In her statement, Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chair of The Trinity Challenge couldn’t hide her excitement about working with the diverse and expert nature of the Judges on the panel:“We are excited to convene a judging panel that is representative of the various sectors, industries, and geographies that we hope to engage – in line with our aim to attract the best solutions from anyone, anywhere. Our panel includes some of the world’s pre-eminent experts in analytics, design, public health, epidemiology, and public and social sector. We are confident that these judges will help us identify the most exciting and impactful solutions to better prepare us for the next global health emergency”.
Following her selection Dr. Seruwagi said she was humbled to be joining a great team of expert individuals and institutions committed to creating a more resilient world in this era of unprecedented global health emergencies. MIT Solve has had previous tech-focused collaborations with Makerere University which this participation builds on.
More about the Challenge
Earlier this year, the Trinity Challenge launched its call for submission of solutions to its health innovation Challenge in partnership with MIT Solve. The Challenge will award prizes from up to a total fund of £10m this June 2021 to innovative solutions that use data, digital tools and analytics to help better identify, respond to, and recover from future health emergencies.
Individual winners stand to receive cash prizes to help them develop, deploy, and scale their solutions for the global public good. They will also benefit from support and mentorship from The Trinity Challenge’s coalition of Members. Members of The Trinity Challenge span organisations from the private sector – including pharma/medtech and tech more broadly, academia, and the social sector.
Credit: @MakerereNews