There was a time when even the epochal developments in the realm of health used to go unsung, but no more. There is the mighty presence of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation these days and the globally acclaimed organization, for this time, has annunciated 76 grants of US$100,000 each so as to pursue ideas for transforming health in developing countries.

Well, the main intention of the annunciation, as has been found, is towards empowering young and upcoming researchers practice pioneering ideas that would set in motion effective and affordable medicines for the world’s poorest people having difficulty to access treatment. It is to be noted that grants, under a program known as Grand Challenges Exploration, do endorse researchers across 16 countries, including nine in Europe and Africa with ideas as diverse as using the power of sunlight to kill malaria-causing mosquito larvae and developing a device that repels mosquitoes without insecticides.

As per Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, a number of the biggest obstructions in global health are now being defeated with promising new vaccines and treatments and Grand Challenges Explorations is equipped to continue to fill the pipeline with possibilities and confidently produce a breakthrough idea that could save untold numbers of lives.

The fortunate winners of this year include Elijah Songok from the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Mr. Fredros Okumu of Ifakara Health Institute, Peter Lubega Yiga of AdhocWorks Foundation in South Africa.

Among these research of Elijah Songok is within the category “Create new ways to prevent or cure HIV infection” and he is optimistic to better understand initial findings from studies of sex workers that natural resistance to HIV may be linked to genetic markers for type 2 diabetes.

It has been learnt that Peter Lubega Yiga of AdhocWorks Foundation in South Africa will put to the test the efficaciousness of a fermentation-based household mosquito repellent while Margaret Njoroge of Med Biotech Laboratories in Uganda will be concentrating on the development of an intranasal vaccine for mothers, premeditated to stimulate antibodies against malaria in breast milk and bestow immunity on their babies.