GHRI announces $3.5M funding to strengthen health systems in sub-Saharan Africa

The Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI) announced today $3.5 million in funding to support ten African-led research teams who will look for innovative ways to strengthen health systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The teams will be led jointly by an African researcher and an African decision-maker and will involve several Canadian researchers.

The funds come from a $5.9 million contribution to the Global Health Research Initiative provided by the Canadian International Development Agency ($5 million through its Africa Health Systems Initiative) and the International Development Research Centre ($0.9M through its Governance, Equity and Health program). Of the $5.9 million contribution, over 80% of the resources will go directly to the African institutions involved in finding relevant solutions to health systems programming challenges in Africa.

Drawing on a wide-range of research expertise from several disciplines, the ten winning teams will focus on key health system issues, including health human resources, front-line health service delivery, as well as community and hospital-based health information management. Special attention will be given to the needs of underserviced segments of the population, including women, children and youth.

"Policy-makers and decision-makers need high quality, up-to-date research findings to guide their efforts to improve health systems that are vital to human health the world over," said Carol Clemenhagen, Program Leader for the Global Health Research Initiative. "These African-led research teams will help ensure that Canada's investments in efforts to strengthen health systems across the sub-Saharan region are effective in improving health outcomes."

The funded teams will be based in seven sub-Saharan countries, including Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. They will focus on the health priorities of these seven nations and will work to connect research, policy and action to improve health decision-making and programming across the region.