Calling Health Innovators: Next Steps on the Solutions Index

Important information about our December 2 deadline, selection criteria, and next steps

Dear Unlock Aid community,

If you work in global health or health supply chains, this message is for you. Our final call for submissions to the Solutions Index: Health Edition closes on December 2. Organizations that filled out our original Solutions Index intake form (released in August) should complete this form as it includes supplementary questions not included in the original (and we provide the option to skip any duplicative questions).

Eligibility is open to any innovator working on health issues. Potential for inclusion is not restricted just to entities affiliated with Unlock Aid. We’ll publish the health edition of the Solutions Index before the end of the year.

Health innovators seeking consideration should complete our intake form by December 2, 2025.

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Launching the Solutions Index: Some Background

In August, we announced we would soon launch a Solutions Index to identify proven, high-impact solutions that governments and funders can work with today to deliver measurable results for millions of people. Since then, more than 100 organizations have submitted information for possible inclusion.

The purpose of the Index is simple: to spotlight organizations that have financially sustainable business models, locally endorsed, and able to deliver impact more cost-effectively than traditional aid models. These are the partners that best positioned to help countries improve development outcomes without relying on unpredictable aid cycles.

In mid-December, we’ll release the first edition of the Solutions Index, focused initially on publishing a list of proven innovators working in global health and global health supply chains. Early next year, we’ll release future editions focused on other sectors, including food security, agriculture and nutrition; clean water access; education; and livelihoods and economic development.

Why this matters

Across the world, donors, governments, and investors are actively searching for the next generation of partners: groups that can deliver measurable results, strengthen local markets, and scale sustainably.

At the same time, the global aid architecture is shifting. In September, the U.S. State Department announced its new America First Global Health Strategy, outlining a new approach to funding priorities in global health, emphasizing an increased focus on country-to-country agreements, commercial diplomacy, and investments in innovation.

As governments and markets take on services previously funded by donors, many of the most effective, financially sustainable organizations remain invisible to decision makers. Policymakers have repeatedly asked us for examples of innovative, cost-effective organizations they should be meeting, especially those that historically have not partnered with major bilateral and international donors, such as the U.S. government.

The Solutions Index is designed to close a visibility gap

While inclusion in the Index does not guarantee funding from the U.S. State Department or any other institution, it does shape the landscape. Many funders are beginning landscaping exercises to identify new, high-impact partners. Being visible at the right moment matters.

We will make public the names and mission statements of organizations selected in the Solutions Index, as well as share the Index with funders who we know are actively looking for new partners.

If you are a health-focused social innovator, you should fill out this intake form by December 2 as we’ll be using the Solutions Index to determine which organizations to highlight.

Our process and what we’re looking for

For this first edition of the Solutions Index, we’ll be publishing a list of proven, high-impact organizations operating in one or more of the following global health and health supply chain verticals:

• Data: collection, integration, interoperability, analysis, management

• Distribution & Delivery: transportation, logistics, last-mile delivery, pharmacy distribution

• Laboratory & Diagnostics: diagnostics, lab analytics, lab equipment

• Product Manufacturing: local drug production, device manufacturing

• Community Health: CHW networks, primary healthcare delivery

• Procurement & Sourcing: drug procurement, tender management, financing

To bring independence and expertise to the review and decision-making, we’ve convened an expert Review Committee that includes:

• Prashant Yadav, Review Committee Chair, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; global health supply chain expert

• Krista Donaldson, Director of Innovation to Impact, Stanford University Mussallem Center for Biodesign

• Morayor Essieh, Health Director, Corporate Council on Africa

• Josh Ghaim, Managing Director of Ignite Venture Studio; Chair of the African Diaspora Network; former CTO of Johnson & Johnson Consumer

The committee will evaluate organizations using the following criteria:

• Organizational alignment with health goals and demonstrated impact

• Organizational maturity and absorptive capacity

• Business model financial sustainability, revenue diversification, and cost effectiveness

• Local endorsement and local buy-in

• Commitment to population and patient safety

All individuals are advising in their personal capacities.

How to participate

If you’re a health-sector innovator and you’d like to be considered for inclusion in this first edition of the Solutions Index, please complete this intake form by December 2. We’ll publish the first edition of this Index before the end of the year.

We are especially interested in solutions with clear pathways to absorbing $5M–$50M+ in additional funding to deliver measurable results, including through results-based funding arrangements.

Our December 2 deadline is firm, so don’t wait. Submit your data today. If you have any question about this process, please reach out to us at hello [at] unlockaid.org.

To Progress,
Unlock Aid

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P.S. If you filled out the August call for submissions, we still ask that you complete this updated form as the Review Committee requires supplementary information that was not included in our initial intake form. We’ve provided an option that will enable you to skip any questions you’ve already answered.

P.P.S. We’ve pasted below the questions we include in our intake form to help you assess if your organization might be a good fit for inclusion in the Solutions Index: Health Edition.

Intake Questions for Health-Focused Organizations Seeking Consideration in Solutions Index

Organizational Data

1. Are you for profit, nonprofit, or something else?
   Options: Nonprofit, For profit, Other:

2. Please indicate all countries where you presently operate (as of December 2025):

3. Please indicate where you could potentially operate within 12-months from today with sufficient resources:

4. Please check which category best describes your primary business activity (we understand organizations may perform more than one function, please select which category best describes your primary business category):

   1. Data (e.g. collection, integration, interoperability, analysis, data management, etc.)

   2. Distribution/Delivery (e.g. transportation, logistics, direct-to-consumer, pharmacy distribution networks, etc.)

   3. Laboratory/Diagnostics (e.g. lab analysis, lab equipment, etc.)

   4. Drug/Product Manufacturing (e.g. device manufacturing, drug production, etc.)

   5. Community Health (e.g. CHW networks, primary healthcare delivery, etc.)

   6. Procurement & Sourcing (e.g. drug procurement, financing, tender management, etc.)

   7. Other: _________________________

5. What does your organization do? (Note: If selected for inclusion in the Solutions Index, we will use this text to describe you. Maximum 50 words)

Organizational Alignment with Health Goals

6. What is your strategy for reaching your intended users or population segments? (Please list 3-4 bullets, Maximum 50 words.)

7. Impact assessment: What are your 1-2 key metrics? How do you collect data and/or monitor your impact? (Please list 3-4 bullets, Maximum 50 words.)

8. Are there credible indicators that your approach can achieve these sustained results at scale? (Maximum 50 words.)

9. What evidence do you have of your innovation’s effectiveness? (Check all that apply)

   1. Pilot results

   2. Peer-reviewed publications

   3. Independent evaluation

   4. User testimonials

   5. Operational data

   6. Cost-effectiveness analysis

   7. Other: _______________

10. How is your approach innovative or technology-enabled in a way that enhances efficiency and/or reach? (Maximum 50 words)

Organizational Maturity

11. Please describe your organization’s team leadership and their relevant experience leading sustainable businesses/organizations in low- and middle-income settings. (Please list 3-4 bullets, Maximum 50 words.)

12. For any specific innovation or solution you sell/build (e.g. software, hardware, product), do you hold the intellectual property and/or licenses/rights to operate?
    If No, please explain why:

13. Please indicate your approximate total operating budget in 2024?
    Options: Below 1M; 1M-3M; 3M-10M; 10M-20M; 20M-100M; 100M+

14. What systems, processes, and partnerships do you have that would enable you to scale to additional geographies/use cases within 2–3 years? (Please list 3-4 bullets, Maximum 50 words.)

Business Model Financial Sustainability

15. Who are your top 3 funders/investors right now? Would receiving additional funds unlock any other investment? (Maximum 50 words.)

16. How does your unit cost change at scale? If your solution has historically relied in part or in full on donor or philanthropic funding, in what way can a donor provide one-time catalytic funding to make your solution more accessible to country governments or local markets (e.g. up-front investments enable you to bring down costs over time, expand access to new markets that can sustain solution, etc.)? (Maximum 50 words)

17. If your organization can be sustained over the long-term from non-donor sources of revenue, please explain how. For example, you may operate a direct-to-consumer business model, have partnerships with local commercial partners, or may be included within national/local health budgets.
    (Maximum 50 words)

18. What are your primary revenue sources? (Check all that apply)

    1. Local government grants/contracts

    2. Bilateral/international donor grants/contracts

    3. Philanthropic funding

    4. Earned revenue/sales

    5. Impact investment

    6. Other: _______________

19. Approximately what percentage of your budget comes from earned revenue or contracts with local governments/markets (versus philanthropic grants/donations/donor funding)?

Local Endorsement / Local Buy-In

20. What local and/or commercial partnerships do you currently have in place? For example, please explain any credible distribution or scaling partnership that are ready to go with a commitment from a ministry of health, memoranda of understanding with local actors, large company that wants to partner, a local distributor with regional reach, etc. (Maximum 50 words)

21. To what extent is your model aligned, or included in national or regional health frameworks? Please explain or write N/A if not applicable. (Maximum 50 words)

Population Safety

22. If you are developing or distributing a product, what regulatory clearance do you have? If you are pre-market what is your regulatory pathway and strategy? Please explain or write N/A if not applicable. (Maximum 50 words)

23. Does your organization have the following? (Check all that apply)

    1. Chief Medical Officer or clinical leadership

    2. Ethics review board approval

    3. Data security and privacy protocols (HIPAA, GDPR, or local equivalent)

    4. Adverse event reporting systems

    5. Quality assurance processes

    6. Patient safety training programs