2026 NGF & GCNg Annual Meeting & Innovation Exchange

Date
Friday, 13 November 2026
Location
Lake Greenfield Hotel, Abuja

Attendance by invitation only

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    About the event

    How can promising health innovations move from research and pilot projects into routine use? The 2026 GCNg Annual Meeting & Innovation Exchange will bring together innovators, government decision-makers, adoption institutions, researchers and funding partners to examine the evidence and identify practical pathways for adoption, financing and sustainable scale in Nigeria.

    Through innovation stories, state experience, focused discussions and a live case Policy Lab, participants will explore what institutions need to adopt an innovation, what financing and implementation conditions matter, and which actions can be taken forward together.

    Programme highlights

    • Innovation and state practice stories: Insights from Nigerian health innovations and public-sector experience.
    • Evidence and adoption conversations: What evidence and operational conditions are needed to move into use?
    • Financing and scale discussions: Practical routes to institutional ownership, financing and delivery.
    • Live case Policy Lab: Faculty and postgraduate analysis of selected innovation and adoption challenges.
    • Working groups and commitments: Priority next steps, responsible institutions and follow-up actions.

    The Exchange brings together institutions and practitioners working across health innovation, public policy, evidence, financing and implementation. Confirmed contributors will be added as arrangements are finalised.

    Organisations

    African University of Science and Technology

    GCNg AUST Policy Lab

    AUST will contribute through a Live Case Policy Lab embedded in the meeting. Faculty and postgraduate participants will examine selected innovation and adoption cases, engaging with evidence and implementation questions before, during and after the Exchange.

    Individual contributor

    Dr Chidinma Onyebuchi Akanazu

    Dr Chidinma Onyebuchi Akanazu

    Dr Chidinma Onyebuchi Akanazu Designation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Institution:
    Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Owerri, Imo State
    Project title: MobiCare360: A Digital–Community Hybrid Model for the Improvement of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Outcomes in Imo State.
    Research question: Can an Android app, SMS reminders and community health worker follow-up improve access to timely health information and support recommended care-seeking among pregnant women and mothers of children under two in Imo State?
    Professor Ezekiel Olugbenga Akinkunmi

    Professor Ezekiel Olugbenga Akinkunmi

    Designation: Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology

    Institution: Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State

    Project title: Development of O-SEE-MUM Oil gels for umbilical care to prevent and treat omphalitis in Nigeria

    Research question: Can O-SEE-MUM oil gels, made from Ocimum gratissimum, prevent and treat umbilical cord infection in newborns in Nigeria?
    Professor Stephen Oguche

    Professor Stephen Oguche

    Professor of Paediatric Infectious Disease; Consultant Paediatrician

    Institution: University of Jos / Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State

    Project title: Point-of-care biomarkers and next-generation sequencing to guide neonatal sepsis management in low-resource settings

    Research question: Can point-of-care biomarkers and next-generation sequencing improve neonatal sepsis diagnosis and guide timely, targeted antibiotic treatment in low-resource settings?
    Godwin A. Bamsa

    Godwin A. Bamsa

    Program Director | Grand Challenges Nigeria

    Godwin A. Bamsa is Program Director of Grand Challenges Nigeria, where he leads strategy, partnerships and programme delivery for Nigerian-led innovation in health and food security. His background spans the private sector, government, academia, development and nonprofit work.

    He connects innovation teams with evidence, institutional partners and practical pathways towards wider impact.

    Explore selected GCNg-supported maternal, newborn and child health innovations and the questions they raise for evidence, institutional adoption and scale. These cases span diagnostics, referral systems, primary healthcare integration and digital decision support.

    Dr Chidinma Onyebuchi Akanazu

    Dr Chidinma Onyebuchi Akanazu

    Dr Chidinma Onyebuchi Akanazu Designation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Institution:
    Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Owerri, Imo State
    Project title: MobiCare360: A Digital–Community Hybrid Model for the Improvement of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Outcomes in Imo State.
    Research question: Can an Android app, SMS reminders and community health worker follow-up improve access to timely health information and support recommended care-seeking among pregnant women and mothers of children under two in Imo State?
    Professor Ezekiel Olugbenga Akinkunmi

    Professor Ezekiel Olugbenga Akinkunmi

    Designation: Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology

    Institution: Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State

    Project title: Development of O-SEE-MUM Oil gels for umbilical care to prevent and treat omphalitis in Nigeria

    Research question: Can O-SEE-MUM oil gels, made from Ocimum gratissimum, prevent and treat umbilical cord infection in newborns in Nigeria?
    Professor Stephen Oguche

    Professor Stephen Oguche

    Professor of Paediatric Infectious Disease; Consultant Paediatrician

    Institution: University of Jos / Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Plateau State

    Project title: Point-of-care biomarkers and next-generation sequencing to guide neonatal sepsis management in low-resource settings

    Research question: Can point-of-care biomarkers and next-generation sequencing improve neonatal sepsis diagnosis and guide timely, targeted antibiotic treatment in low-resource settings?
    Godwin A. Bamsa

    Godwin A. Bamsa

    Program Director | Grand Challenges Nigeria

    Godwin A. Bamsa is Program Director of Grand Challenges Nigeria, where he leads strategy, partnerships and programme delivery for Nigerian-led innovation in health and food security. His background spans the private sector, government, academia, development and nonprofit work.

    He connects innovation teams with evidence, institutional partners and practical pathways towards wider impact.