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Johnson & Johnson Announces Six Winners of the Champions of Science Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0 at the 28th World Economic Forum on AfricaCAPE TOWN, South Africa, Sept. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson today announced the winners of the Champions of Science Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0 at the 28th World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF) in Cape Town, South Africa. The six winning businesses and programs offer bold, entrepreneurial approaches to tackling major healthcare priorities in African communities, including Blood Delivery, Healthcare Worker Burnout, Hearing Loss, Jaundice, Malaria and Ultrasound Access. A total amount of US $300,000 will be awarded to the winning teams, along with extensive mentoring and connection network building, to support the expansion and sustainability of the companies and programs. The Challenge reflects Johnson & Johnson's legacy of supporting entrepreneurs around the world to uncover, develop and promote solutions that improve health and wellbeing in their communities and beyond. "The innovation ecosystem in Africa is thriving, and the ideas and energy of its entrepreneurs and innovators have the potential to create transformational change for people across the continent and around the world," said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee, Johnson & Johnson. "The six winners of the Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0 are addressing major healthcare challenges with novel technology and approaches. We look forward to collaborating with and investing in them as they work to create sustainable businesses and programs that offer strong benefits to patients, families, healthcare workers and communities in markets across Africa and beyond." The Challenge received nearly 900 submissions from 39 countries, and the winning businesses and programs represent outstanding ingenuity and perseverance, as well as a pathway for scaling operations for long-term sustainability. The winners will be recognized today at a press conference at WEF from 1:45 – 2:15 PM SAST, along with prominent African government leaders. "The World Economic Forum is excited to partner in announcing the winners of the Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0 at this year's congress, which is focused on Innovation, Cooperation, Growth and Stability, critical areas that the challenge embodies," said Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa at the World Economic Forum. "Each of the six winners brings a passion for innovation, a bold sense of purpose and a commitment to the future of their communities and the larger continent. By participation in our meeting, we hope that they will be able to gain knowledge, ideas and connections to help them take their business to the next level as well as inspire leaders to encourage and support future generations of innovators." "The winners of the first Africa Innovation Challenge have made significant advancements with their businesses, including hiring more workers, accelerating production and securing important patents and trademarks – all part of the ambitions and goals of the Challenge," said Seema Kumar, Vice President, Innovation, Global Public Health and Science Policy Communication, Johnson & Johnson. "The new winners are equally impressive and talented, and we are confident that by linking the energy and ingenuity of these winners with the resources available through the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, that they will also make a real and lasting impact in communities across Africa." CHAMPIONS OF SCIENCE AFRICA INNOVATION CHALLENGE 2.0 AWARDEES The Challenge winners were selected from a large and impressive pool of applications reviewed by a Johnson & Johnson cross-sector team representing our Consumer, Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical, Global Public Health, Corporate Equity and Johnson & Johnson Innovation businesses and groups. The winning teams each target a significant unmet need: BLOOD DELIVERY
HEALTHCARE WORKER BURNOUT
JAUNDICE
MALARIA
ULTRASOUND
Johnson & Johnson cross-sector teams will now begin working with each business and program and will report their progress at the Next Einstein Forum's global gathering event in 2020. The Next Einstein Forum is a platform that connects science, society and policy in Africa and the rest of the world. For more information on the Africa Innovation Challenge and the stories of innovation from past winners, please visit www.jnjinnovation.com/africachallenge/. PRESS CONFERENCE WITH WINNERS & GOVERNMENT MINISTERS AT 1:45 PM SAST About Johnson & Johnson in Africa Through innovation, collaboration and local engagement we are:
About Johnson & Johnson i African Population and Health Research Center. Fact Sheet. June 2017. Accessed Online: https://bit.ly/2pz2isG ii National Institiutes of Health. A cross-sectional survey of burnout amongst doctors in a cohort of public sector emergency centres in Gauteng, South Africa. May 7, 2018. Accessed Online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6223592/#b0005 iii World Health Organization. Deafness and Hearing Loss. March 20, 2019. Accessed Online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss iv National Institutes of Health. Hearing Impairment Among Children Referred to a Public Audiology Clinic in Gaborone, Botswana. April 20, 2018. Accessed Online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946350/ v National Institutes of Health. Incidence and Risk Factors for Neonatal Jaundice among Newborns in Southern Nepal September 23, 2013. Accessed Online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5055829/ vi World Health Organization. Malaria. March 27, 2019. Accessed Online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria vii N. Kiwanuka, Gertrude. Malaria Morbidity and Mortality in Uganda. March-June 2003. Accessed Online: http://www.mrcindia.org/journal/issues/401016.pdf viii World Health Organization. New Guidelines on Antenatal Care for a Positive Pregnancy Experience. November 7, 2018. Accessed Online: https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/news/antenatal-care/en/ Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/781034/Johnson_and_Johnson_Logo.jpg
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