FALCON AWARDS FOR DISEASE ELIMINATION - WESTERN PACIFIC

Presenting the Falcon Awards for Disease Elimination

The Falcon Awards for Disease Elimination is an awards scheme that aims to help partners go further and faster towards their disease elimination goals. In 2021, GLIDE launched its first iteration of the Falcon Awards where four applicants received funds to deliver projects to advance the elimination of GLIDE’s four focus diseases (malaria, polio, onchocerciasis, and lymphatic filariasis) in endemic countries. In 2023 GLIDE launched a second iteration of the Falcon Awards – The Climate Edit focusing on supporting formative research to expand the evidence base on the intersection of climate change and infectious diseases. Nine winners were selected, and the findings of their 6-month research projects were showcased in December 2023. This year, GLIDE’s third iteration of the Falcon Awards is focusing on accelerating disease elimination in the Western Pacific Region.  

ABOUT THE FALCON AWARDS – WESTERN PACIFIC

The Western Pacific region presents a vast and diverse landscape, with many remote and hard-to-reach areas. Within this demographic and geographic context lie both challenges and opportunities for disease elimination. Many countries in the Western Pacific Region grapple with limited financial and healthcare resources, which hinder their continued progress towards elimination. When coupled with climatic and societal shifts, populations in the region face heightened risks for poor health. While evidence of the linkages between climate and health is growing more evident, further research is essential to deepen our understanding of these dynamics.

While progress has been made in eliminating diseases across the region, significant challenges persist. A comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach, drawing upon the expertise and resources of academia, government, communities, and civil society is needed. This is why, this year, GLIDE is launching its third iteration of the Falcon Awards with a focus on the Western Pacific Region, by inviting proposals for formative research and advocacy initiatives which aim to:  

  1. Generate evidence to advance the elimination of infectious diseases in the Western Pacific Region 
  2. Disseminate knowledge to enhance understanding and catalyse action for disease elimination. 
  3. Support local or regional advocacy efforts to advance disease elimination. 
  4. Raise awareness for disease elimination strategies and approaches. 
  5. Cultivate partnerships with civil society aimed at advancing elimination through new approaches that enhance knowledge or evidence around the transmission, control, elimination, and eradication of infectious diseases

Awards Structure

Through this iteration of the Falcon Awards, GLIDE will award up to 10 winners in June 2024 following a thorough evaluation by a jury of global health experts.

  • Formative research proposals selected by the jury will receive a sum of up to US$30,000 to conduct their 6-month research projects.
  • Advocacy initiative proposals will receive up to US$10,000 to implement their initiatives over 6 months. 

ELIGIBILITY

Eligible applications are those that aim to provide catalytic support to disease elimination efforts for Vector-Borne Diseases, Neglected Tropical Diseases or climate infectious diseases across the region through advocacy campaigns initiatives or formative research projects. Institutions or entities that fall within the following categories are welcome to apply:

  1. National or regional academic or research institutions.
  2. Public, private or non-governmental sector institutions.
  3. Consortia, coalitions or networks may apply but must meaningfully include an academic institution, Civil Society Organization (CSO) or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) based in the eligible countries list.
  4. Any interested Pacific Island national with demonstrated experience in infectious disease elimination in the Region, as well as early career researchers are encouraged to apply.

2024 AWARDS PROCESS & TIMELINE

Applicants are invited to submit their proposals via GLIDE’s Falcon Awards Application Portal for review and evaluation. Awardee selection will be determined through a two-stage process. In the first stage, proposals are assessed for eligibility and fit; a shortlist of 20 projects will then be recommended to a jury of global health experts. In the second stage, the jury will recommend up to 10 projects with the highest scores across selection criteria.

 

 

JURY

Dr Kazim SANIKULLAH

Team Lead (Neglected Tropical Diseases), the Integrated Communicable Disease Control Unit (ICD), the Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO)

Dr Louise Makau-Barasa

Senior Director, Programs at The END Fund

Dr Patrick Lammie

Director, Neglected Tropical Diseases Support Center (NTD-SC)

Ms Camilla Burkot

Senior Technical Adviser, the Global Health Division, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)

Ms Diana Yousef

Technical Adviser, GLIDE

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Apply Now

Submission window closes Monday April 29, 2024

For more information please review the following documents:

Download Application Guidelines
Download FAQs
Download Terms & Conditions
Download Eligibility Criteria

Contact support: falconawards@glideae.org

“I am delighted that this year’s iteration of GLIDE’s Falcon Awards is focused on the challenges to and opportunities for disease elimination in the Western Pacific. This is a region that has made considerable progress but also a region that faces huge challenges. The region suffers, perhaps more than any other, the consequences of climate change, which is an existential threat to some nations. We hope that these awards will stimulate and accelerate progress towards elimination by broadening the body of evidence and supporting advocacy to help translate evidence to policy action.“

– Simon Bland, CEO, GLIDE