George Roberts (center) of Bayer accepted the P3 Impact Award from Dorothy McAuliffe (left), Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State, and Hanne LeCount (right), Senior Director of Partnerships at Concordia. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Summit)
The Challenge Initiative (TCI) was named the winner of the prestigious 2024 P3 Impact Award during an award ceremony held Sept. 24 at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York City. Dorothy McAuliffe, Special Representative for Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State, presented the award to TCI in recognition of its exemplary public-private partnership (P3) model, which addresses global challenges through innovative and sustainable family planning programs across Africa and Asia.
“This recognition underscores the power of public-private partnerships in addressing critical global issues, and TCI is honored to be acknowledged for our efforts to transform family planning services across 13 countries in Africa and Asia,” said Kojo Lokko, TCI’s Executive Director. “We remain committed to our mission of ensuring that urban populations have the tools and resources needed for sustainable health solutions.”
Now in its 11th year, the P3 Impact Award is a collaboration between the Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, Concordia, and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. The award honors public-private partnerships that demonstrate excellence in solving pressing global issues, such as improving access to education, promoting ecological sustainability, supporting women’s economic empowerment, and providing humanitarian assistance.
Led by the William H. Gates Sr. Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, TCI operates with support from key partners, including Bayer AG and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its work is facilitated through six regional hubs located in East Africa, Francophone West Africa, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines, which are led by, respectively, Jhpiego, IntraHealth International, PSI India, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, Greenstar Social Marketing and the Zuellig Family Foundation. TCI’s impactful model of partnership, which emphasizes local leadership, government financing, and sustainable health systems, has set a new standard for collaborative global health initiatives.
According to the judges, TCI stood out for its unique approach to financing, scaling, and sustaining family planning initiatives that respond to the challenges of rapid urbanization in low- and middle-income countries. Since its launch in 2016, TCI has engaged 213 city governments, supporting them to implement high-impact family planning practices and other interventions that quickly expand access to critical family planning information and services. To date, TCI has contributed to an additional 4.6 million family planning users in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, India, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. These efforts cover a total population of 272 million people.
George Roberts, the Global Impact Partnership Lead at Bayer, received the award at the Concordia Annual Summit.
“It is an incredible honor to receive this award on behalf of The Challenge Initiative, all of our partners including the local governments we work with, and Bayer, a company deeply committed to empowering 100 million women by 2030 with access to family planning,” Roberts said. “Through our collaboration with TCI, we are making great strides toward that goal by scaling high-impact, locally led family planning solutions. Today’s recognition affirms the strength of our public-private partnership and reinforces our belief that when governments, communities, and the private sector work together, we can achieve transformative, sustainable outcomes for women’s health and wellbeing globally.”
The P3 Impact Award was created to recognize and celebrate leading cross-sector collaborations that drive positive social change and improve communities around the world. Presented annually at the Concordia Summit in New York, the award showcases partnerships that align public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address some of the world’s most pressing problems.
For more information about The Challenge Initiative and its groundbreaking work, please visit https://tciurbanhealth.org.
