Following an overwhelming response to its most recent Grand Challenges request for proposals, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a group of nearly 50 grant recipients who are developing global health and development solutions for their communities using AI-enabled large language models (LLMs). Guided by the goal of reducing global inequity, the call for proposals specifically targeted researchers and innovators in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

Responsible and safe use of AI-driven LLM technology has the potential to help solve some of the world's toughest health and development challenges. However, for these models to be useful in LMICs, researchers in LMICs need to participate in the design, application, and testing of this technology as it rapidly evolves. A robust evidence base will fill gaps in access and our knowledge about the application of such tools to address problems across LMICs in an equitable way.   

Today's announcement is part of the foundation's Grand Challenges program, a family of initiatives fostering innovation to solve pressing global health and development problems. Each recipient will receive up to US$100,000 to advance its research project, for a total of US$5 million in grants.  

Selected recipients are from Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam. The findings of these projects will be shared at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Dakar, Senegal, this October