Africa Health Collaborative Research Fund 2026

Overview of the call

Member institutions of the Africa Health Collaborative (AHC) are contributing matching funds to support collaborative bilateral and multilateral research initiatives through a joint call for proposals. Bilateral projects are eligible to receive up to $22,000 USD – with each institution awarding up to $11,000USD to investigators at their home institution. Multilateral proposals will be scaled up to $11,000USD per institution. It is anticipated that 9 joint proposals will be selected for funding.

Building on the strong partnership between the Africa Health Collaborative member universities, and in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the collaborative’s goal is to prepare diverse young people for the meaningful work of positively transforming health and well-being in Africa through contextually appropriate and sustainable primary healthcare.

The Africa Health Collaborative has identified research – particularly in policy – as an integral dimension for the network, focusing on developing translational research that has the potential to have a positive impact on communities, building research capacity, establishing new and/or growing existing research collaborations, and generating new insights and understandings to guide the development of Africa’s health ecosystems.

The Africa Health Collaborative’s research principles are grounded in the following values:

1. Research is strategic and applied for impact
2. Knowledge generation is rooted in co-creation and seeks to include community partners
3. Methods are ethical, rigorous and respectful of culture and context

The key aim of the Africa Health Collaborative Research Fund 2026 (the Fund) is to encourage and provide initial support for the development/expansion of high-quality policy-related research activities for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). Funding is available from each institution to develop bilateral or multilateral research projects. The Fund seeks to support proposals that will lead to larger and long-term research collaborations with a view to enabling principal investigators (PIs) to subsequently apply for funding to support the next phase of their joint research that will result in greater impact. All proposals will be peer reviewed and adjudicated by a joint committee. Top-ranked proposals will be funded.

The theme for this year’s grant is focused on Health Human Resources Policy or Health Financing Policy in Primary Health Care in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Proposals that aim to provide opportunities for collaborative training of graduate research students through their inclusion in the research project, engagement with community organizations, and have capacity to demonstrate translational research impact are highly encouraged to apply.

About the Africa Health Collaborative

The Africa Health Collaborative (AHC) is a multi-year partnership working to strengthen primary health care systems across Africa through health workforce development, education, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The AHC has identified research as an integral dimension for the network, focusing on developing translational research that has the potential to have a positive impact on communities, building research capacity, establishing new and/or growing existing research collaborations, and generating new insights and understandings to guide the development of Africa’s health ecosystems.

Eligibility 

All proposals must be led by an Early Career Researcher from an AHC member institution (See Appendix 1 for definition of ECR by institution) and be bilateral (2 ECRs between two AHC member partners) or multilateral (three ECRs between three or more AHC member partners). Proposals must also include participation of masters, doctoral or post-doctoral trainees. Eligible applicants may only lead one application Further application requirements for applicants at each institution can be found in Appendix 2.

One may apply without a co-applicant. If approved by their home institution, the proposal will be shared publicly in a repository to identify a potential co-applicant(s) to apply for the Fund.

External collaborators (including researchers from other universities internationally, or those working in non-academic contexts such as community organizations, government, NGOs) cannot lead an application but can be involved in the proposed activities, where the benefit of their involvement to the collaboration is justified in the proposal.

Applicants from all disciplines are welcome to apply. Proposals demonstrating strong relevance to Health Human Resource and Health Finance Policy in Primary Health Care (including public health, community health and related areas) in Sub-Sahara Africa are strongly encouraged to apply.

Activities and Scope 

Proposals may include targeted research support such as joint workshops, researcher exchanges, and the formation or research exchange groups between the Africa Health Collaborative member institutions. Joint projects will commence from January 1, 2027 for a maximum of 18 months.

Value, Duration and Funding Scope

Joint funding will be provided to support up to 9 proposals, across bilateral and multilateral projects, for a funding period of 18 months. Bilateral projects are eligible to receive up to $22,000 USD – with each institution contributing up to $11,000 USD and awarding up to $11,000 USD total to investigators at their home institution. Multilateral proposals will be scaled, with up to $11,000 USD per institution.

The funding provided is intended to support expenses including but not limited to costs of travel (ECRs, Post-Doctoral Fellows, research associates, graduate student researchers) between the institutions, and costs associated with research, workshops and meetings Details of eligible and ineligible costs by institution are detailed in Appendix 3.

Requested budgets must be proportionate to the nature and scale of activity. For example, if a proposal concerns a trilateral workshop held at one institution, the requested budgets for the hosting and sending institutions should be calculated and justified accordingly.

While collaborative projects should develop an overall budget, each institution will pay funds directly to its researchers. Approval of expenditure will be governed by each university for the portion of funding provided, with any significant variations requiring approval from all participating institutions.

Equality/Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Adherence to respective equality/equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies are an important feature of this program to ensure that all participants can do their best work, thrive, and succeed. Applicant teams should consider how they can take meaningful steps in their future collaborations to foster an environment that values, supports and respects a diverse range of views, knowledge and experiences. Applicants should consider EDI as it applies to gender, indigenous peoples, disabilities, and sectors.  

Evaluation Criteria

A joint review committee will assess each proposal according to its academic merit using the following criteria:

• Project design and rationale (10 points): How clearly presented and justified is the basis for, and design of, the project? How do the proposed activities assist with establishing new and emerging research collaborations/expand on existing research focusing on policy? What are the anticipated benefits of involving graduate student researchers?

• Collaborator complementarity (10 points): What is the added value of the new or emerging collaboration/expand on existing research? How do the proposed activities combine mutual areas of interest in Health Human Resource Policy or Health Finance Policy in Primary Health Care in Sub-Sahara Africa?

• Potential translational impact and demonstrability of impact (20 points): What desired outcomes do the planned activities set out to achieve in policy? What are the anticipated benefits of the activities to local communities? How will you demonstrate results/impact of your work?

• Capacity for future collaboration/funding (10 points): What is the potential for this project to foster ongoing collaboration, and through what mechanism(s) in policy? How well does the proposed collaboration plan to access external funding?

• Relevance and value of research project to Africa Health Collaborative activities (5 points): How is the research relevant to the activities of the Collaborative in the health policy space? How does the proposed research add value to these activities?

The proposals will be assessed and recommended for selection by a committee composed of members of the Africa Health Collaborative from each institution.

How to Apply

One joint application per project should complete an online application form by November 7, 2026 (12PM GMT).

The full proposal is comprised of the following elements:

1. Applicant information  A) Co-Investigator information for institution 1 (Name, title, faculty, university, email):  B) Co-Investigator information for institution 2 (Name, title, faculty, university, email):  C) Co-Investigator information for institution 3 (Name, title, faculty, university, email):

2. Research Proposal  A) Title of research project:  B) Abstract (Brief description of project – 250 words):  C) Project timeline and planned activities (200 words):  (D) Collaborator complementarity Describe how the proposed activities combine mutual areas of interest and strength and the added value of these combined expertise – 250 words):  E) Rationale and potential impact  i. Potential translational impact (Describe how your proposal aligns with health human resource policy or health finance policy in primary healthcare in Sub-Sahara Africa, the anticipated impact of the research activities to local communities and communication of results – 250 words):  ii. Potential scholarly impact (Describe the expected academic gains for the project as a result of the proposed cooperation, and the identification of corresponding performance indicators – e.g. publication, blogs, meeting reports – 250 words):  iii. Graduate research involvement (Describe opportunities for their engagement and anticipated benefits to the project – 250 words):  iv. Relevance and value of project to Africa Health Collaborative activities (Describe how the research is relevant and bring value to the activities of the collaborative in the policy area – 250 words):  F) Capacity for future collaboration (Describe the potential future collaborations and outcomes that will be possible as a result of having undertaken the current collaboration. For example: joint publications, supervision of graduate researchers, teaching, grant applications, reports, collaborations with corporate partners – 250 words):  G) Equality/Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Discuss how the proposed project promotes inclusion of diverse members of the community and reflects EDI priorities of the involved institutions – 100 words):  H) Budget – Breakdown of the cost of activities

See Appendix 4 to see approval required by each institution before submitting your application.

Apply here

Need Help?

Please email your queries to africasecretariat@utoronto.ca

Timeline

Promotion of call and open Expressions of Interest	July 1 to August 15, 2026
EOI application deadline	August 15
Review of EOIs for eligibility by each university and notification of results (including single applicants)	August 15 to September 7
Submission of full application	September 11 to November 7
Full application deadline	November 7
Review of applications by committee and notification of results	November 7 to December 1
Start of awards	January 1, 2027

Reporting 

All awardees must, as a condition of receiving an award under this call, complete a mid-term and final narrative report that describes the outcomes, nature of collaboration, project impact on community, graduate researcher involvement and opportunities for future collaboration that evolved from their project. A single joint report should be submitted to all involved institutions within three months of the project end date, using the contact listed below.

Any publications (e.g. abstracts, articles) or dissemination of research (e.g. public presentations) arising from activities supported by this Grant should acknowledge financial assistance received from the Africa Health Collaborative Research Fund. Copies of the publications and/or information about the presentations should be included in the above report.

Information about this Call 

All queries related to this call for joint research proposals should be directed to africasecretariat@utoronto.ca 

Appendix 1: Definition of Early Career Researcher (ECR) by Institution

Addis Ababa University: Full time academic faculty with rank of assistant professor and below (not more than two years since appointment to the last rank). Faculty from local partner institutions are also welcome to apply (Debra Berhan University, Wolkite University, Wollo University, Woldia University).

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences: All researchers holding a doctorate degree and having at least two years left on their contract with AIMS.  

African Leadership University: Five years of their first significant research-related appointment, pre/post post-master’s degree or equivalent milestone. 

Amref International University: Either graduated with a PhD in the last three years or a PhD student with evidence of full registration for the course; a master’s degree holder with evidence of at least one publication in peer reviewed journals as a first author or second author.

Ashesi University: Early career would include all full-time faculty researchers graduated with a PhD in the last five years; pre/post master’s degree holders with evidence of at least one publication in a peer reviewed journal. 

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology: All PhDs, Postdoctoral fellows, up to the level of Lecturer. 

Moi University: Those with PhD attained within last 10 years and/or without funded research. 

University of Cape Town: Up to the rank of senior researcher/senior lecturer OR within 5 years of PhD graduation. 

University of Toronto: 5 years from time of first research appointment. 

Appendix 2: Project Requirements by Institution 

Addis Ababa University: Proposal must address primary health care and health systems related issues in a multi-disciplinary and innovative approach, must include graduate trainees to participate in the proposed project.  

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences: Proposals must have substantive mathematical components and must include one or more graduate student researchers.

African Leadership University: Individuals must demonstrate a strong focus on solving societal challenges through entrepreneurial innovative health research. Teams should include final year graduate or postgraduate researchers. Proposals must address challenges in one of the following 1) Public health, community health and related areas in Africa 2) Ethnographic approaches to understanding African Health systems 3) Indigenous practices in maternal health 4) Solutions grounded in entrepreneurial leadership and interdisciplinary innovation. All Proposals much include 1) Innovative approaches 2) Practical application and impact 3) Interdisciplinary methods such as predictive analytics/health systems modeling/financial sustainability analysis/behavioral insights and human-centered design/digital health innovations/community based-research/implementation science. Proposal must be scalable and sustainable.

Amref International University: Individuals must be self-driven, with proposed work that is innovative and has the potential to impact practice and policy in strengthening health systems for more robust primary healthcare systems.

Ashesi University: Proposals must address an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary issue involving primary healthcare policy and one or more of the following: social sciences, engineering, computer science, law, or business administration, namely HR or financing. Must include a graduate or undergraduate student.

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology: Must include graduate students, assistant lecturers, and lecturers in the first two years.

Moi University: Affiliation to Public Health or related health sciences.

University of Cape Town: None

University of Toronto: None 

Appendix 3: Eligible/Non-eligible costs (Additional institution-specific requirements below)

Addis Ababa University:  

Eligible:  Travel costs including flights, hotels and subsistence, Costs associated with organizing workshops/meetings (excluding RA/administrative staff), Research costs, including consumables (up to a maximum of $1,500 USD), Modest support to graduate students, Conference attendance to present the output of the research, Publication related costs for the output of the research.

Not eligible:  Replacement research/teaching costs. Directly incurred staff e.g. Research Assistant, Directly allocated costs including applicants’ time, Equipment.

African Leadership University:  

Eligible: Graduate research stipends in accordance with intern remuneration policy, External consultation fees related to data collection/analysis, Field visits for data collection, 1 conference, software licenses for data modeling, health analytics tools, prototyping materials not found in Fablab, Capacity-building sessions for students, stakeholder workshops to disseminate findings, institutional overhead (up to 10%), publishing fees for open-access journals and marketing materials.  

Not Eligible: Salaries for ALU staff/faculty already on payroll, international travel unrelated to research/excessive cash advance, high-cost laboratory equipment or devices, large-scale events not related to project, overhead exceeding allocated amount, entertainment, non-research-related marketing or excessive branding costs.

Amref International University: Funding is for costs related to development and approval of study instruments, data collection, personal costs related to the research such us travel, accommodation, out of pocket and meals as per the organizational policy; dissemination of study findings including publishing and presentation in conferences.

Ashesi: Funding is for costs related to development and approval of study instruments, data collection, personal costs related to the research such us travel, accommodation, and meals as per the organizational policy; dissemination of study findings including publishing and presentation in conferences.

University of Toronto: Graduate stipends/scholarships not eligible

Appendix 4: The following institutional level approval is required before submitting your grant 

Addis Ababa University: None  

African Institute for Mathematical Sciences: None  

African Leadership University: Proposal and Protocol Approval (Project Activation Lead and Healthcare Programs Director) AND Budget (Project Activation Lead and Provost)

Amref International University: Division of Research and Community Extension and Ethical review will be granted before commencing field work by Amref ESRC and NACOSTI   

Ashesi University: None  

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology:  Head of Department and Director of Office of Grants and Research   

Moi University: Consent by School of Postgraduate, Research and Innovation and OR ethical review board (ISERC)  

University of Cape Town: None   

University of Toronto: None