Delivering life-saving oxygen therapy to vulnerable children

Dr Hamish Graham is leading a proposal to enable equitable oxygen therapy for children around the world. Partnering with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the proposal is through to the final six of the MacArthur Foundation's 100 & Change program, a $US100M grant for the winning world-changing team. 

Dr Graham's big idea, to deliver life-saving oxygen therapy to vulnerable children around the world, builds on his 2018 success as the CSL Florey Next Generation award winner.  

Hamish's research and experiences as a doctor have shown that knowing which children need oxygen the most is vitally important for hospitals in lower and middle income countries where oxygen supplies and the infrastructure to deliver them are limited. 

His work demonstrates that supplying pulse oximeter devices that clip on which measure a person's pulse and blood oxygen saturation and the training to use them is as important as supplying oxygen itself. 

The team's top six success, from an initial 755 applications, has already seen it gain access to the Lever for Change program, which unlocks significant philanthropic capital by helping donors find and fund vetted, high-impact opportunities through the design and management of customized competitions.  

Dr Graham said, "I'm extremely grateful to everyone who is working towards this vision. The six finalists all have seriously big, life-changing ideas! We are really honoured to be counted among these amazing initiatives." 

100&Change finalists are all featured in Lever for Change's Bold Solutions Network, a searchable online collection of highly-rated, rigorously-evaluated proposals that emerge from each of the competitions managed by Lever for Change. 

According to the MacArthur Foundation, the finalists now enter a phase where they work with an expert team to strengthen their proposals, present a preliminary plan for evaluation and learning, and show authentic community engagement before submitting revised project plans. MacArthur will offer finalists technical assistance, and consulting to support fundraising, scaling efforts, and improve inclusivity. 

The six finalists will present their proposals during a live event in early 2021, before the MacArthur Board names a single group to receive $100 million over up to six years.