Yesterday marked the official launch of Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development. The partnership between USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The World Bank, Grand Challenges Canada, and the Norwegian government was created to seek out new and innovative approaches to improve maternal health in rural, resource-poor settings. During the first funding cycle, the Challenge partners intend to invest $50 million in groundbreaking, sustainable projects focused on the development of new technology, improvement of reliability and eficiency of service delivery, and engaging communities in maternal health promotion.