Community Empowerment Lab (CEL) Wins Grand Challenges Canada's Rotman Innovation of the Year Award

— CEL's innovative Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) approach is transforming neonatal care in Uttar Pradesh, India, saving lives and improving health outcomes for newborns —

TORONTO, Dec. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - The Community Empowerment Lab (CEL) has been awarded the prestigious Rotman Innovation of the Year Award for 2024 in recognition of its transformative work in scaling Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) across Uttar Pradesh, India. The CAD $10,000 award, presented annually by Grand Challenges Canada, recognizes global health innovations that have significantly saved or improved lives.

Under the leadership of Dr. Vishwajeet Kumar and Aarti Kumar, CEL has championed the use of KMC—a method involving skin-to-skin contact between mother and infant—to enhance survival rates of low-birth-weight and premature babies. Despite its proven effectiveness, KMC remains underutilized globally, often overshadowed by high-tech medical interventions. Through CEL's efforts, more than 197,000 newborns have received kangaroo mother care to date, resulting in significant health improvements for 191,000 infants and over 4,000 lives saved.

"Receiving the Rotman Innovation of the Year Award is an incredible honour," said Dr. Kumar, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder of CEL. "It is a testament to the power of community-driven, evidence-based healthcare solutions. KMC is more than a medical intervention; it's a life-saving bond that empowers mothers and transforms healthcare delivery."

Founded in 2011, CEL is dedicated to improving maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes by turning research into impactful public health solutions. They have created more than 250 dedicated KMC lounges in health facilities across Uttar Pradesh, fostering supportive environments where mothers are central to their babies' care. CEL's KMC app has revolutionized how Kangaroo Mother Care is implemented in India, facilitating better care management and driving improvements in newborn health through skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding.

"We know that immediate KMC for fragile newborns saves and improves lives," said Dr. Karlee Silver, CEO of Grand Challenges Canada. "The magic of CEL is that they have made Kangaroo Mother Care an aspirational and supported approach for mothers and their families in India, saving thousands of lives in the process."

CEL's work is a testament to the power of community-driven solutions. As part of their ongoing commitment to improving healthcare for India's most vulnerable populations, they continue to expand the number of KMC lounges and are in the process of establishing Mother-Newborn Intensive Care Units (M-NICUs) across Uttar Pradesh.

"At CEL, we are working to serve as a bridge between policy and practice to save newborn lives," said Dr. Kumar. "From the beginning, Grand Challenges Canada believed in our vision, and their support has been vital in scaling this work." 

The Rotman Innovation of the Year Award was created in 2020 as part of Grand Challenges Canada's 10th anniversary, in honour of the late Joseph Rotman, the Founding Chair of Grand Challenges Canada. Previous recipients of the award include Hewatele, a Kenyan-owned social enterprise that produces medical-grade oxygen for rural healthcare facilities; Ubongo, a Tanzania-based nonprofit and Africa's leading producer of children's edutainment; Fresh Life, a Kenya-based social enterprise that improves sanitation through access to toilets and safe waste treatment; and Max Foundation for their 'Healthy Village' approach, which creates lasting change for children and communities in Bangladesh. 

About Grand Challenges Canada:
Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) is dedicated to supporting Bold Ideas with Big Impact^®. With support from the Government of Canada and other partners, GCC has invested in more than 1,700 innovations in over 100 countries. Since 2010, GCC-supported innovations have reached more than 80 million people with lifesaving and life-improving initiatives who would not otherwise have had access. Visit www.grandchallenges.ca to learn more.

About Community Empowerment Lab (CEL):
The Community Empowerment Lab is a community-entrenched global health research and innovation organization based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. CEL's mission is to keep innovating better ways to ensure that more and more newborns and mothers survive and thrive Visit https://www.celworld.org/ to learn more.

SOURCE GRAND CHALLENGES CANADA / GRANDS DÉFIS CANADA

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