WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) and the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) are pleased to announce the 2026–27 Call for Applications for the Joint AFRO/TDR Impact grants for regional priorities.

Deadline for submission

15 September 2026 (17:00 CEST)

Eligible countries

Only applicants from the African Region are eligible

Languages

English, French or Portuguese

Funding

Up to US$ 15 000 per grant

Background

The African region has long faced persistent weaknesses in health systems, limiting its capacity to achieve health goals in a comprehensive, efficient and sustainable way. The region continues to bear the highest burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases. There is a concerted global effort to accelerate the development of new or improved interventions such as drugs, vaccines and diagnostics against communicable diseases, including neglected ones. Improving coverage of currently available health interventions is just as important. Implementation research can provide the evidence base for adjustment of health interventions and processes to the local context, but has been under-utilized, mainly due to lack of awareness of the benefits and inadequate capacity. Implementation research to address low coverage, inefficient delivery of existing interventions and other bottlenecks can contribute towards universal health coverage (UHC) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

This call is a joint initiative between TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and the WHO AFRO, which have a mutual interest in strengthening the capacity for health research in developing countries. The call reflects a commitment to increasing the level of implementation research to deliver high quality and cost-efficient health care solutions to people in resource poor settings.

The TDR Strategy 2024–2029 aims to build on the African region’s experience to support country-led implementation research to improve the health and well-being of the people living in the African region by strengthening health systems, improving access to health interventions, and addressing emerging global health challenges such as climate change and pandemics.

It also supports translation of research results into policy and practice by improving health and promoting the engagement of individuals and communities in using research evidence to reduce the disease burden in their respective countries.

The grants also encourage cooperation between the research teams and national and international partners.

Objectives

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 aim of this call is to facilitate and strengthen public health-oriented implementation research. Implementation research activities supported by this call may be complementary to those supported through other stakeholders interested in these research areas.

The focus of this call is on the following priorities, with illustrative research areas below:

Eligibility criteria

WHO AFRO and TDR are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity in science. Researchers are encouraged to apply irrespective of gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious, cultural and social backgrounds, or (dis)ability status.

In addition, the following criteria should be met:

• 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.

Selection process

Proposals will be selected on a competitive basis by external reviewers and WHO staff in the WHO AFRO and TDR. Scoring is based on scientific excellence, the public health impact and the project implementation plan. PI will be informed of the results within three months of the application deadline.

Funding will depend on obtaining ethical approval for the proposed research from relevant research ethics committees in AFRO and the target country.

Funding information: Up to US$ 15 000 per grant. Co-funding from domestic or other sources is encouraged.

Study duration: The maximum duration for the study is 12 months. The research project must be completed by the end of 2027 (no-cost extension is not permitted).

How to apply

Applications should be submitted online no later than 15 September 2026 (17:00 CET) through the eTDR Community Site.

You will need to be logged in to the eTDR before you can submit your application. If you have not used the site before, please create a new account. Consult this guide for more information on how to submit an application in eTDR.

Both the proposal and PI information can be submitted in English, French or Portuguese.

Application forms must be completed and signed appropriately. Please include:

• Duly completed and signed research proposal form
• The curriculum vitae of the PI must not exceed one page. It should clearly indicate the PI’s affiliation and complete address (including mobile telephone number, WhatsApp number and e-mail), as well as affiliated institution(s). The full name of the PI (with the family name underlined), gender, date of birth, nationality, qualifications and the nature of the applicant’s current and previous posts must be clearly stated.
• The costing of the project must be included and expressed in United States dollars.

Any applicant who does not fully complete the prescribed proposal form will not be considered for funding.

Contacts

Publication policy

Any publications or data resulting from the supported projects must follow the WHO’s Policy on Open Access and should clearly refer to the WHO AFRO/TDR Impact Grants for Regional Priorities support, including the grant number.

Related links

• TDR
• TDR Strategy 2024-2029
• TDR Implementation Research Toolkit
• The MOOC (massive open online course) on implementation research
• Hypothesis-driven approach for problem-solving in the context of global public health
• TDR research for implementation