Twenty-five new National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Groups have been awarded funding under the programme’s Group 4 Call to deliver high-quality applied global health research and training in low and middle income countries (LMICs) over the next four years.
The Global Health Research Groups scheme funds large scale, ambitious programmes of applied health research that will address locally-identified challenges in LMICs through equitable partnerships between researchers and institutions in the UK and those in LMICs.
The Global Health Research Groups programme provides funding to support not only delivery of research that will improve health outcomes for people living in LMICs, but also to strengthen crucial research capability and capacity in resource-poor settings, in particular, training and capacity building in both academic research and programme support functions.
The successful applicants were selected by a Stage 2 independent funding committee in 2023 following open competition. The new cohort of Groups will build on the success of the previous phase of the programme (Groups 3) which are running from 2022 to 2026. Each of the Groups 4 awards will receive up to £3 million in funding to support their work over the next four years from 2024 to 2028.
The programme will meet NIHR’s strategic priorities for Global Health Research, to:
- address the shifting global burden of disease
- develop health systems to identify and respond to population needs
- build resilience to tackle future global health threats
- strengthen research capacity in LMICs through equitable partnerships between LMIC and UK researchers.
Building scientific expertise through international research - by better understanding diseases and developing treatments, by making use of technology in health care, and by engaging with and for communities - will be crucial to achieving the core shifts from sickness to prevention, analogue to digital, and hospital to community, each important parts of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan.
The 25 NIHR Global Health Research Groups awarded funding will comprise a diverse range of health challenges. These will range from infectious disease, injury and mental health through to maternal health and health systems strengthening.
The Global Health Research groups will include:
- NIHR Global Health Research Group on Vaccines to Control Respiratory Pathogens & Anti-Microbial Resistance across Africa
- Equity in Respiratory Disease Outcomes in Africa using Data-Driven Tools
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in primary care in South America
- Optimising Antibiotic Usage to Mitigate AMR
- Virus Genomics for Outbreak Response in Central/East Africa
- Integrating TB and respiratory services in Africa
- Improving fitness to face arboviral outbreaks in West Africa: development of community-led approaches for vector surveillance, control and risk prediction in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
For more details about these awards, or for the full list, please visit the Funding and Awards page on the NIHR website.
Professor Kara Hanson, Director of the Global Health Research programme, said: “We are delighted to announce this new phase of NIHR Global Health Research Groups, which build on the success of the programme over the past eight years. Each of these new Groups will conduct cutting-edge applied health research that addresses unmet needs in LMICs, to benefit the most vulnerable communities living in these settings.
“This provides a great example of how leading UK researchers, working in equitable partnerships with researchers in LMICs, can deliver high-quality impactful research and capacity strengthening, as well as sustainable community engagement and involvement.”