Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE)

The Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) is a UAE-based health institute dedicated to accelerating progress towards disease elimination, with the goal of contributing to a world free from infectious diseases of poverty. Founded in 2019 by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and now-president of the United Arab Emirates, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GLIDE is the first institute of its kind in the Arab region, representing a new centre for global health and development. GLIDE funds projects and partnerships in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, with a focus on elevating awareness and engagement, advancing elimination strategies, and fostering and scaling innovation.

  • Organisation type Low-profit LLC
  • Year founded 2019
  • Headquartered Abu Dhabi
  • Registration United Arab Emirates
  • Website https://www.glideae.org

Related sustainable development goals

  • No Poverty
  • Good Health and Well-Being
  • Clean Water and Sanitation
  • Reduced Inequalities
  • Partnerships for the Goals

Focus areas

Focus sectors

  • Health
    • Diseases and conditions
      • Infectious and parasitic diseases
    • Public health
    • Out-patient care
      • Preventive care

Focus populations

  • Low-income people
  • Refugees and displaced people
  • Victims and oppressed people
    • Victims of conflict and war

Focus geographies

  • Africa
    • Cameroon
    • Malawi
    • Ghana
    • Mozambique
  • Americas
    • Brazil
  • East Asia
  • Middle East
  • North Africa
  • South Asia
    • Pakistan
  • South-east Asia
    • Indonesia

Partners

  • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Reaching the Last Mile Fund
  • The Carter Center
  • The END Fund

Programmes

  • Accelerating the elimination of onchocerciasis in Cameroon

    GLIDE works with partners in Cameroon to support the elimination of river blindness.

  • Advocacy and awareness

    GLIDE uses social media and thought leadership initiatives to increase public awareness about disease elimination and global health events.

  • APLMA-APMEN partnership

    GLIDE partnered with Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance Secretariat (APLMA) and the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) - a network of government heads and countries working to eliminate malaria and lymphatic filariasis in the Asia Pacific by 2030. 

  • Bridges to Development

    GLIDE's partnership with Bridges to Development aimed to explore and research approaches to help to help accelerate and improve disease elimination and eradication efforts. 

  • Challenging anti-vaccine sentiments

    Through this programme, GLIDE collaborates with New York University, UNICEF, WHO EMRO (Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean), and the American University of Beirut to combat misinformation and the rise of anti-vaccine and anti-science sentiment.

  • COVAX in the MENA region

    With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Global Health Strategies, GLIDE launched an advocacy initiative in 2021 to increase awareness and support for the COVAX facility in the MENA region. This aimed to highlight the importance of vaccine equite and pandemic preparedness. 

  • Disease Elimination and Eradication Course (DEEC)

    In partnership with the New York University School of Global Public Health (NYU SGPH) and The Carter Center, GLIDE developed a hybrid (online and in-person) comprehensive course to support and empower health workers from Africa and other vulnerable regions with essential information on the elimination and eradication of infectious diseases.

  • Exploring the climate-health nexus

    GLIDE commissions research and organises the convening of experts to study and explore the effect of climate change on diseases, and particularly disease elimination efforts. 

  • Falcon Awards for Disease Elimination

    GLIDE launched this award to support researchers leading projects to tackle diseases such as polio, malaria, and NTDs in endemic countries. In 2023, the award theme was under-explored areas of climate change and its impact on infectious diseases.

  • Incentives for disease elimination

    GLIDE in collaboration with the University of California San Fransisco (UCSF) launched a research project to explore potential incentives and strategies used in health, private and agricultural sectors to support disease elimination.

  • Innovative financing

    GLIDE provides a platform to convene innovative finance initiatives to support sustainable solutions for the supply of medicines and diagnostics for NTDs.

  • Malawi NTD master plan development 2022-2026

    GLIDE is working with stakeholders and partners in Malawi to support the development of a master plan to manage NTDs.

  • Malawi Onchocerciasis Elimination Expert Advisory Committee

    GLIDE provides support to the Malawi Onchocerciasis Control Programme to conduct assessments and address gaps to eliminate onchocerciasis in Malawi. 

  • Malawi Onchocerciasis Transmission Assessment 

    GLIDE providing support for research and assessment on eliminating river blindness in Malawi.

  • Partnership with Sightsavers

    GLIDE partners with Sightsavers to develop and trial a low-cost, high-impact strategy to onchocerciasis cross-border transmission in Mozambique, Malawi, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire.

  • Partnership with The Carter Center

    GLIDE's partnership with The Carter Center’s Onchocerciasis Elimination Program (OEPA) aims to support efforts to eliminate river blindness in the Americas by exploring new technologies and helping to identify vulnerable communities living in remote areas, particularly in Venezuala, Brazil, and Amazon forest villages. GLIDE also partnership also extends to The Carter Center’s Hispaniola Initiative, which aims to tackle lymphatic filariasis and malaria on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (which is shared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

Financials

Funding model

  • Grants to organisations
  • Matching grants

Primary funders

  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Funding source

  • Private

Operations

Key staff

  • Simon Bland, CEO
  • Lara Dahan, programme and partnerships manager
  • Hajer Al Hosani, advocacy and communications associate
  • Priya Kanayson, advocacy and communications manager

Board members

  • Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, chair
  • Richard Feacham
  • Margaret Gyapong
  • Maha Barakat
  • Nassar Al Mubarak
  • James Carty
  • Bobby Shriver
  • Simon Bland
  • Ellen Agler

Contact details

More

Resources

The end game: a new UAE institute hopes to globalise the fight to wipe out neglected tropical diseases. Read more

Guinea worm: the last mile. Read more

Oped: Shining a spotlight on female health workers. Read more

The race to vaccinate: Equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines is in all of our interests, writes Simon Bland, CEO of GLIDE. Read more

More from GLIDE:

Annual report 2022