Closing soonGrant2026/27

WHO AFRO/TDR Impact Grants 2026-2027

Implementation research for regional health priorities in the WHO African Region

WHO Regional Office for Africa with TDR

Up to US$15,000 for African-led implementation research addressing practical health-system and service-delivery challenges in the WHO African Region.

What it funds

Person-centred service delivery across the life course, including integrated primary health care, TB, malaria and neglected tropical diseases, referral systems, quality improvement and scalable service-delivery models
Health systems strengthening, innovation and digital transformation, including essential medicines and diagnostics, laboratory systems and supply chains, digital health and health information systems, data use for decision-making, appropriate AI-supported tools, emergency preparedness and community-system strengthening
Environmental health, climate change, One Health and emerging threats, including climate-sensitive diseases, WASH integration into primary health care, antimicrobial resistance, rational use of medicines, zoonoses, surveillance and preparedness

Where the research happens: The proposed research must be conducted in the WHO African Region
Principal Investigator: Based at an institution in the WHO African Region, with most of the team also based in the region
Eligible institutions: Ministries of health, disease-control programmes, universities, research institutes and NGOs
Experience: Demonstrated experience in operational and/or implementation research
Encouraged applicants: Early-career researchers, women and applicants from least-developed countries

You can point to a real implementation bottleneck in an existing programme, intervention or service
Your study can generate an actionable solution within 12 months
You have a clear link to the health programme or service that would use the findings
Your question fits implementation or operational research rather than purely descriptive research
You can work within a US$15,000 ceiling

Your main objective is to estimate prevalence without testing or studying implementation
You are proposing a large clinical trial or expensive new intervention development
The work cannot realistically be completed within 12 months
You do not have an eligible African-region institutional base
You cannot secure the required programme or service-level acknowledgement

Completed and signed WHO/TDR research proposal form
One-page PI CV
Project budget in US dollars
Signed acknowledgement letter from the relevant health programme or service
Health-centre authorisation if implementation will take place in a health centre
Ethics documentation as required by the call and relevant committees
One combined PDF prepared according to the funder’s naming instructions
eTDR account for online submission

1
Define a focused implementation problem within one of the call priorities
2
Engage the relevant health programme or service manager early
3
Complete the prescribed WHO/TDR application form
4
Prepare the PI CV, budget, acknowledgement letter and relevant approvals
5
Combine the required documents into one PDF
6
Submit through the eTDR Community Site before the deadline
7
Competitive review on scientific quality, public-health impact and implementation planning

Best suited for: Researchers embedded in universities, ministries, NGOs or health programmes who already know the implementation problem they want to solve.
The main hurdle: This is a small grant with a large thematic scope. Competitive proposals need to be sharply focused rather than trying to solve an entire health-system problem with US$15,000.
Start early on: Narrowing the implementation question, securing programme support, ethics planning and producing a realistic budget.
Watch out for: A descriptive health study is not automatically implementation research. The proposal should clearly identify an intervention or service, an implementation bottleneck and how the research will inform delivery.

Is the study located in the WHO African Region?
Is the PI based at an eligible African-region institution?
Is the question genuinely implementation or operational research?
Is there an existing programme, service or intervention the question relates to?
Can the work be completed within 12 months and US$15,000?
Do you have the required programme acknowledgement and any service-level authorisation?