Save the Children Immunization Accelerator: $1M Fund for Innovators in Ethiopia & Nigeria

Save the Children has opened applications for the second round of its $1 million Immunization Innovation Accelerator. This vital program seeks groundbreaking solutions from innovators in Ethiopia and Nigeria to address the "zero-dose" challenge, aiming to reach children who have never received routine vaccinations. Grants ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 are available for projects tackling supply and demand barriers to immunization, fostering systemic, behavioral, or educational change.

The funding is intended to support direct project costs, including equipment, fieldwork, data collection, consumables, research assistance, travel to conferences, and organizational overheads (up to 8% of direct costs). Selected projects will be funded for up to 18 months, with potential for extension.

Eligibility

Applicants must be legally registered entities in Nigeria or Ethiopia and conduct their research and/or operations in these countries. They should be able to demonstrate a track record in these regions. The accelerator is open to various organization types, including:

• Not-for-profit organizations/Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
• Charities or Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
• Academic institutions
• Research and technology organizations (RTOs)
• Businesses of any size 
• Projects must be at the testing/evidence generation stage of the innovation cycle, with some initial indication of success towards addressing an immunization barrier.

Nigeria has the highest number of unvaccinated children globally (2.1-2.2 million zero-dose children), and Ethiopia accounts for an additional one million. Challenges contributing to this include health system limitations, insecurity, and community resistance in both countries. The program seeks to address both supply- and demand-side barriers to immunization through new products, services, or approaches that drive systemic, behavioral, or educational change.

The inaugural grantees of the Save the Children Immunization Innovation Accelerator were Habtech Solutions PLC from Ethiopia, which received close to $100,000 for its "ZeroDose care" digital solution leveraging data analytics to improve immunization decision-making, and Nigeria's Center for Integrated Health Programs (CIHP), which was also awarded nearly $100,000, for piloting a "positive deviance" social and behavioral change model to mobilize caregivers to share their vaccination experiences.