The Brazilian government is forging new collaborations with non-state actors. The country’s Ministry of Health and the Gates Foundation have announced a strategic alliance to develop solutions for global health issues such as vaccines, nutrition, maternal and child health, and infectious disease control. The alliance’s main initiative will be Grand Challenges Brazil, to be launched later in the year. Initially focused on maternal and child health, the Ministry of Health, the National Council on Research and the Gates Foundation will allocate up to US$8 million (R $14.7 million) for research to prevent and manage pre-term birth. The alliance builds on existing cooperation between Gates and the Brazilian government, such as the joint work to control tuberculosis and dengue fever and improve productivity among small famers. According to Trevor Mundel, president of the global health program at the Gates Foundation, the collaboration ‘can serve as a model for international donors and emerging economies to work together for global impact’.

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