News – Page 2 – Duke Global Health Innovation Center

18Feb 2026 by Jennifer Larson Sawin

An Open Letter: Building Stronger Systems for Health Innovation Introduction

In this open letter, members of the ALIGN Consortium call for urgent reforms to strengthen national systems for health innovation introduction through four pillars: (1) whole-of-government coordination and capacity; (2) improved data availability and use; (3) multi-sector engagement for alignment and accountability; and (4) portfolio-based prioritization and planning. 📄 Download the Open Letter Original Publication: February 2026

08Dec 2025 by Melissa Slogan

Learn About the ALIGN Exchange Substack

News

The ALIGN Consortium aims to improve health outcomes by strengthening the critical decision-making systems that determine how health product innovations are prioritized and introduced in countries, to make those systems more effective and efficient. Comprised of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Keprecon, and ENDA Santé, the ALIGN Consortium supports the national governments in Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa to enhance innovation introduction, looking at four focus areas: whole-of-government coordination and capacity strengthening, data-driven decision making, whole-of-market engagement (including national, regional, and global engagement), and portfolio-based planning. The goal is to create more accountable, resilient health systems that deliver better health outcomes faster for all, and to generate insights, tools, and resources that can be used by stakeholders around the world. Learning is a crucial component of…

08Dec 2025 by Melissa Slogan

2024-2025 Annual Report

News, Our Reports

Innovation to Impact: Our Year in Global Health July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025 As we navigate a period of profound changes in health and healthcare globally, it is with great pride and gratitude that we share our 2024–2025 Annual Report, a reflection of the transformative work we’ve accomplished together with partners around the world. At the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare, we remain steadfast in our belief that everyone deserves to thrive. Impact at a Glance Key Highlights: AI Learning Lab Launched ➡️ We launched an innovation incubator supporting six pioneering organizations applying AI solutions to local health challenges in low- and middle-income countries Rwanda's Model Marburg Response ➡️ Through the COVID Treatment Quickstart Consortium, our on-the-ground team helped Rwanda achieve one of the lowest mortality…

07Dec 2025 by Melissa Slogan

Strengthening Health Innovation Introduction

News

Strengthening Health Innovation Introduction Policy, financing, and advocacy enablers of effective, efficient innovation introduction Health innovations hold immense promise for improving lives, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet many of these innovations fail to reach the people who need them most, due to fragmented systems, misaligned priorities, and under-resourced decision-making processes. This paper, developed by the ALIGN Consortium, explores how countries can strengthen the systems that determine which health innovations are prioritized, financed, and introduced. Rather than focusing on the number of products launched, the initiative emphasizes decision quality, system alignment, and stakeholder engagement. 📄 Download the full paper. Original Publication: October 2025 Updated: December 2025, several references adjusted for accuracy

30Oct 2025 by Melissa Slogan

October 2025 Monthly Roundup

News

In This Edition: October 2025 Newsletter This month's newsletter highlights our work strengthening health systems across Latin America, introduces a major new consortium advancing country-led health innovation, and celebrates innovators driving healthcare access worldwide. Key highlights include: Strengthening Health Systems in Latin America – Our new report analyzes health budgeting practices across 8 countries with actionable recommendations for policymakers, plus insights from a recent roundtable with FIFARMA and the Atlantic Council Introducing The ALIGN Consortium – A groundbreaking partnership led by Duke GHIC with partners in Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa to strengthen the decision-making systems that determine how health innovations are prioritized and introduced in countries Events Spotlight – Upcoming appearances at Rice360's Innovation for Healthcare Access Conference and North Star Alliance's Regional Conference, plus recaps from recent discussions…

30Oct 2025 by Melissa Slogan

Analysis of Health Budget Practices in 8 Latin American countries: Current Practices, Systemic Challenges, and the Road Ahead for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru

Our Reports

Our report, funded by FIFARMA, analyzes how health resources are planned, prioritized, allocated, and managed in eight Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. Its purpose is to understand the processes of health budget allocation and execution, identify the gaps between population health needs and available resources, and provide concrete recommendations for policymakers and health system stakeholders to strengthen efficiency and equity in health budget management. Read the full report.

29Oct 2025 by Melissa Slogan

Introducing The ALIGN Consortium

News

New Initiative Introducing The ALIGN Consortium Advancing Country-Led Innovation Introduction through Government Engagement and EvideNce The ALIGN Consortium aims to improve health outcomes by strengthening the critical decision-making systems that determine how health product innovations are prioritized and introduced in countries, to make those systems more effective and efficient. Our goal is to create more accountable, resilient health systems that deliver better health outcomes faster for all, and to generate insights, tools, and resources that can be used by stakeholders around the world. The Challenge Despite robust innovation pipelines, promising health technologies often fail to reach low- and middle-income countries quickly, equitably, or sustainably. The median time from idea to 20% uptake in LMICs is 13.5 years, more than twice as long as in high-income countries. These delays reflect deeper challenges in how innovations…

20Oct 2025 by Melissa Slogan

Food for Trust: What nutrition teaches us about building trust in health

Blog

Food and nutrition are among the most personal—and most public—parts of our lives. They connect us to family, culture, identity, and values as well as health. They also reveal how health advice travels: through science, through policy, and through the messengers and media to which we choose to listen and learn. At Food for Trust: Nutrition Guidance, Influence, and Lessons on Trust in Health, part of Duke Global Health Institute’s Think Global series, panelists explored how nutrition guidance is made, communicated, and followed. Organized by the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and moderated by the Center’s Heather Lanthorn, the event (you can watch the video here!) tied directly to Healthier Together—an initiative jointly incubated by Duke, Your Local Epidemiologist, and COVID Collaborative—building infrastructure for the next generation of grassroots, trustworthy…

25Aug 2025 by Melissa Slogan

Students Aid Rural Pamlico County in Improving Health Access

Blog

Now in its fourth year, DGHI’s summer student research project may offer a template for counties facing challenges in providing health services to rural residents. By Mary-Russell Roberson; This post originally appeared on the Duke Global Health Institute’s website on August 25, 2025. View the original here: https://duke.is/r/8u2y. This summer, Duke sophomore Tanya Sachdev was paddling in a dragon boat in Oriental, North Carolina, when someone on the boat began to experience stroke symptoms. The group paddled to shore and waited for EMS, who took the patient to the nearest hospital – 45 minutes away in New Bern. “You’re seeing firsthand the impact of being in a rural place,” said Sachdev, a global health major from Cary, N.C. “Growing up in Cary, I’ve taken healthcare access for granted.” Sachdev spent…

30Jun 2025 by Melissa Slogan

June 2025 Monthly Roundup

News

The “Monthly Roundup” is a monthly newsletter dedicated to sharing the latest news from the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare. View the June 2025 newsletter. Subscribe to the monthly newsletter.