CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: 2026-2027 JOINT WHO AFRO/TDR IMPACT GRANTS

Organisation: World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) and the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR)

Eligible countries: Only applicants from the African Region are eligible

Languages: English, French or Portuguese

Funding: Up to US$ 15 000 per grant

Duration: 12 Months

Deadline for submission: 15 September 2026

OVERVIEW

The WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) and the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) have announced the 2026–2027 Joint AFRO/TDR Impact Grants, supporting implementation research focused on health priorities across the African Region.

African countries continue to face challenges in strengthening health systems and improving access to quality healthcare. The region carries a high burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases, creating a need for more effective health interventions and delivery systems.

This initiative focuses on implementation research, which helps identify challenges in delivering existing health interventions and develop solutions suited to local needs. It is a joint initiative between TDR and WHO AFRO aimed at strengthening research capacity in African countries.

The initiative also promotes collaboration and the use of research evidence to improve health policies, practices, and outcomes, contributing to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of the impact grants are to:

Strengthen the research capacity of relevant individuals and institutions in countries.
Generate actionable knowledge, context-specific solutions, and implementation strategies that can be applied by countries to strengthen health systems and tackle infectious diseases of poverty.
Encourage intersectoral dialogue and a One Health approach.

RESEARCH PRIORITIES

The programme supports research that can help solve real health challenges across Africa. Applicants can develop projects around three main areas:

1. Person-Centred Healthcare

Research that explores how healthcare can become more accessible, connected, and focused on people’s needs. This may include improving services for diseases such as TB, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases, strengthening referral systems, and finding practical ways to improve primary healthcare.

2. Stronger Health Systems and Digital Innovation

Research focused on improving healthcare systems through better access to medicines and diagnostics, stronger laboratories and supply chains, improved quality of care, and the use of digital health, data, and appropriate AI tools to support healthcare decisions.

3. Environment, Climate and Emerging Health Threats

Research addressing health challenges linked to climate change, sanitation, antimicrobial resistance, and diseases that spread between animals and humans. Projects may also focus on strengthening disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, and collaboration between different sectors.

QUALIFICATION

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

Proposals may only be submitted in English, French or Portuguese, using the eTDR portal.
Applications are particularly encouraged from qualified applicants who are in the earlier career stage, are women, or are from the group of least-developed countries.
Research proposed must be conducted in the African Region.
The Principal Investigator (PI) and (most of) the research team must be based in an institution in an African Region country or territory, including national tropical/communicable disease control programmes, ministries of health, academic institutions, research institutes and nongovernmental organizations.
The research project must relate to the objective and scope described in the present call.
If implementation is sought to be in a health centre, an authorization letter from the public health manager or director is needed.
Proposals submitted should include an acknowledgement letter signed by the manager of the programme area or the person in charge of the programme related to the project at any level of the public health/healthcare services (e.g. primary health care unit, municipal secretary of health, state department of health, or national ministry or secretary of health).
Applicants must demonstrate experience in operational and/or implementation research. This might include, but is not limited to, evidence of having been trained in operational/implementation research and being able to conduct research independently. Such training could include the TDR Implementation Research Toolkit, the MOOC (massive open online course) on implementation research, or another formal research training experience.