Health Research Capacity Strengthening in Kenya and Malawi
The Health Research Capacity Strengthening Initiative was developed following an agreement with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to work together to improve health research capacity in Africa.
National Task Forces were established in Kenya and Malawi to develop fundable proposals. In both Kenya and Malawi, National funding bodies were proposed to develop and manage agreed programmes of activity, with the aim of strengthening capacity for generation of health research knowledge, and improve its use in evidence-based decision making, policy formulation and implementation in Kenya and Malawi.
The HRCS Initiative has led to the establishment of new major programmes of health research capacity strengthening in both Kenya and Malawi, under an agreed programme of work which is supported and managed locally by national health research funding bodies.
The Wellcome Trust and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) committed £10 million each towards this initiative.
In Kenya the programme is being implemented by a new NGO, the Consortium for National Health Research (CNHR).
Main achievements to date:
• In Kenya, the Consortium for National Health Research (CNHR) has selected and supported four Communities of Research Excellence (CoReS) to be funded, collaborating on specific areas including vector biology, pharmacology and health systems research.
• Six Research Leadership grants have been awarded in competition. Thirty graduate students have been awarded six-month research placements in universities, research institutes, Government Ministries and laboratories and many of these individuals have already gone on to secure a PhD position building on their experience.
• In addition the CNHR team are focusing on modernising ethics regulations in Kenya, raising the profile of science among young Kenyans, and establishing a platform to facilitate interaction between Kenyan policy makers and health researchers.
In Malawi, HRCS activities are housed within the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST)
Main achievements to date:
• In Malawi, a major focus has been establishing and launching the first National Health Research Strategy for the Government of Malawi.
• Five research grants and 34 Masters’ training fellowships have been awarded in competition.
• More than 100 undergraduate grants have been made to students at the College of Medicine, Chancellor College, The Polytechnic, Kamuzu School of Nursing and Mzuzu University, to provide an opportunity to undertake a research project as part of their training.
For more information about the HRCS initiative, please consult the relevant websites.