Meet the 2024 AIM Grant Winners
Environmental Women
About the Organization: Environmental Women is an ecofeminist organization. Its mission is empowering and safeguarding indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon basin in the face of emerging health challenges related to climate change.
The Challenge: Climate change in the Colombian Amazon basin has created regional PPPR (Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response) challenges, including a 66% increase in infectious diseases with pandemic potential. Indigenous communities are experiencing a spike in infectious diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya, malaria, Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, and leishmaniasis.
Purpose of Grant: Environmental Women will use its AIM grant to implement pandemic surveillance systems that seek to reduce detection and reaction times in the face of epidemic outbreaks. Funds will go towards a number of projects, including training 300 indigenous leaders on PPPR, developing PPPR manuals aimed at indigenous people, and creating a database through bi-monthly surveys of 300 indigenous families.
Taskeen Health Initiative
About the Organization: Based in Karachi, Taskeen Health Initiative is a nonprofit working to change people’s attitudes and behaviors towards mental health and wellbeing. It increases awareness, provides accessible mental health services, and advocates for mental health policy change in Pakistan.
The Challenge: According to research conducted by Taskeen, 3 in 5 people in Pakistan experienced anxiety and depression due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, these numbers have risen. Despite the high prevalence of mental illness in the country, the national pandemic preparedness and response strategy does not include mental health support.
Purpose of Grant: Taskeen will use its grant to draft and establish a first-ever protocol for mental health response to national health emergencies, fund advocacy efforts to mobilize and lobby provincial and national health ministries, build on its current research-based reports on COVID-19 and mental health, and adapt a mental health screening toolkit for first responders for early detection and prevention of mental illness.
Accion International para la Salud
About the Organization: Based in Lima, Accion International para la Salud advocates for universal access to health services, including medicines and other essential health technologies. The organization promotes the participation of different social players in the design and implementation of health policy.
The Challenge: Peru’s health system is still facing the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to healthcare inequality in the country, officials and advocates — including AIS — are pushing the Pandemic Treaty to include mechanisms that assure equitable access to health technologies and vaccines.
Purpose of Grant: AIS will use its grant to advocate for a more equitable Pandemic Treaty by creating a working group to monitor Parliament negotiations, launching a social media campaign, organizing stakeholder meetings, and doing media outreach, among other activities.
No Borders Humanity
About the Organization: Based in Nasiriyah, Iraq, No Borders Humanity Organization (NBH) is dedicated to making a positive impact on society through nonprofit, non-governmental, and non-political initiatives in the fields of relief and sustainable development. It teaches human rights, citizenship, and technologies that support conflict resolution, peacebuilding, democracy, and justice in Iraq.
The Challenge: Iraq faces regional challenges related to PPPR, specifically in vulnerable, under-resourced communities. NBH is fighting for improved healthcare infrastructure, access to vaccines, and pandemic preparedness in these underserved regions.
Purpose of Grant: The AIM grant will enable NBH to make a more substantial impact in addressing regional PPPR challenges. Among other things, the funds will help the organization intensify its advocacy efforts, enhance organizational capacity, and provide advocacy and communications training to its team and partners.
Centre for Youth of Hope
About the Organization: Located outside of Gaborone, Botswana, Centre for Youth of Hope (CEYOHO) works to enhance the quality of life for young people living with HIV by delivering comprehensive prevention strategies and steadfast support services.
The Challenge: In Botswana, young people, despite being disproportionately affected by pandemics like HIV and COVID-19, are often excluded from decision-making around national PPPR strategies. CEYOHO is working to integrate youth perspectives into PPPR strategies to help ensure their unique needs and vulnerabilities are addressed.
Purpose of Grant: This grant will facilitate the development and execution of a targeted advocacy plan speaking directly to the needs and capacities of young people in the context of pandemic preparedness and response. CEYOHO will use the funds to organize critical forums, bringing together youth, CSOs, and policymakers, to foster an inclusive platform for dialogue and policy influence. Additionally, the grant will help produce and disseminate youth-friendly advocacy materials, support research activities to identify PPPR gaps affecting youth and support CEYOHO in establishing a youth-led PPPR network.
Hear from Global Health Council’s 2022 AIM Grant recipients about the outcomes of their work and what lies ahead for each organization here.