NIH IMPROVE Initiative Announces Community for Maternal Health Challenge Winners

WASHINGTON – This week, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the final winners of the Connecting the Community for Maternal Health Challenge. The Maternal Health Challenge was made possible through the NIH IMPROVE (Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone) Initiative, with funding secured by the Black Maternal Health Caucus (BMHC).

The NIH IMPROVE Initiative was first launched in 2019 in response to BMHC Co-Chairs Underwood and Alma Adams (D-NC) meeting with then-NIH Director Francis Collins to urge the agency to do more to prioritize research that will help solve our maternal health crisis. Through the federal appropriations process, the BMHC has increased funding for the initiative five-fold since it was launched.

But despite its critical mission, the program lacks sustained authorized funding. Co-Chair Lauren Underwood (D-IL) has worked alongside Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and U.S. Senators Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) to introduce the NIH IMPROVE Act, which would codify funding for this existing program for the next seven years.

The NIH IMPROVE Act would:

• Authorize $53.4M annually for seven years to carry out the IMPROVE Initiative and support research on potential causes of maternal mortality and severe morbidity.
• Approve research that would target disparities associated with maternal mortality and severe morbidity and aim to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths.
• Additionally, the bill would also build an evidence base for improved care and outcomes in underserved maternal care deserts.

Part of the IMPROVE Initiative, the Community for Maternal Health Challenge was launched by the NIH in 2022 “to encourage community-based and advocacy organizations in the United States to develop the infrastructure and capabilities necessary to conduct maternal health research.” More than 90 non-academic, 501(c)(3) organizations based in the United States applied to participate in the multi-phase challenge. Forty-five organizations that were accepted into the Gathering Phase participated in online training and submitted one-page summaries introducing their research idea. The 15 Gathering Phase winners each received a $10,000 prize and an invitation to participate in the Proposal Phase, during which they received further training and mentoring to develop a comprehensive research proposal. 

Nine Proposal Phase winners each earned an additional $150,000 prize and an invitation to participate in the Research Phase. During this final phase, the eight participating organizations continued to receive training and one-on-one mentorship as they implemented their project plans, conducted the proposed research, and reported preliminary results.

The final winners of the Research phase and the overall Community for Maternal Health Challenge were announced this week.  First place was awarded to Nurturely of Eugene, Oregon. Second place was awarded to Central Jersey Family Health Consortium of North Brunswick, New Jersey. Five organizations tied for third place. Approximately $1.5 million in cash prizes was distributed among these Research Phase winners.

More information about the Community for Maternal Health Challenge and selected winners can be found on the NIH announcement page here.

Underwood and Adams co-founded the Black Maternal Health Caucus in 2019 to advance federal solutions that save moms’ lives, including the Momnibus Act, comprehensive legislation to end America’s maternal health crisis.

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