Updates
UNFPA, Organon and MIT Solve launch the 4HerPower Challenge
05 Sep 2023
The UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, with Organon, the global health care company with a focus on women’s health and MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are launching the 4HerPower Challenge: Innovating for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
The 4HerPower Challenge aims to find, fund and support innovative solutions by and for young people, aged 18-35 years old, prioritizing adolescent girls and young women in all their diversity. Individuals, teams and organizations from UNFPA programme countries are eligible for this challenge. Selected winning innovators will share USD $140,000 in funding and participate in a 6-month support program where they will benefit from mentorship, coaching and capacity building workshops run by MIT Solve in collaboration with UNFPA to further develop and refine their solutions. Young innovators have until October 27, 2023 to submit their solutions via MIT Solve’s open innovation platform! More information on eligibility can be found here.
"We are thrilled to embark on this exciting collaboration together with Organon and MIT Solve. The 4HerPower Challenge holds the promise to drive meaningful change in empowering young people through access to financing and improved access to sexual and reproductive health and rights solutions for many others. By fostering innovative solutions that prioritize youth-centric, and especially young women-centric access, engagement, and empowerment, we aim to disrupt inequality and break down the barriers between young people and their rights and choices," said Dr. Nigina Muntean, Chief of the Innovation Unit at UNFPA.
UNFPA, Organon and MIT Solve are looking for up to 14 solutions created by and for young people, prioritizing adolescent girls and young women, that address key challenges within sexual and reproductive health within UNFPA’s programme countries.
To that end, we seek solutions that address at least one of the following dimensions:
- Prioritize infrastructure centered around young people to enhance young people’s access to SRHR information, commodities and services.
- Strengthen the capacity and engagement of young innovators in the development, implementation and growth of solutions addressing their SRHR needs.
- Improve the SRHR outcomes of young people and address root cause barriers to SRHR care.
- Enable young people’s meaningful participation in SRHR cross-sector collaboration, including but not limited to fields such as legal, policy and advocacy.
“This challenge with UNFPA and Organon emphasizes the urgent need for accessible sexual and reproductive health care deliverables and rights. This work puts youth in the driving seat, and supports them in using technology to break barriers and enable more choices for young individuals,” said Hala Hanna, Executive Director, MIT Solve.
Conditions relating to sexual and reproductive health remain a leading cause of death, disability and economic and social disempowerment for women in the developing world. At the same time, sexual and reproductive health is one of the top three accelerators for development returns. By harnessing the power of technology, youth-led innovations are breaking down traditional barriers of access and provide a platform for open dialogue, access to information, and systems change.
"Young people have the greatest need for contraception and also face unique and often outsized obstacles in accessing sexual and reproductive health products and services," says Geralyn Ritter, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Sustainability & ESG. "As part of our global commitment to help reduce unplanned pregnancies, and working together with UNFPA and MIT Solve, we hope the 4HerPower Challenge encourages the development of solutions by and for young people, so that they can all reach their promise."
Entries close on 27th October, 11:59 AM EST.
