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High quality statistics that improve lives globally
Office for National Statistics
High quality statistics and data are essential to enable evidence-based decision-making at local, national, and global levels. This ONS project supports its partners – national statistics offices (NSOs) in low- and middle-income countries – to strengthen their technical and organisational capacity, using its world leading expertise in statistical production and NSO management. Through a range of in-person and remote assistance, the project supports the production of higher quality, valuable and trustworthy statistics for the global good.
UK financial support to Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG)
HM Treasury
UK financial support through HM Treasury to support the strengthening of anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) systems in developing countries, in line with the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group's (ESAAMLG) Mission Statement and Strategic Plan. The support will contribute to regional efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing through effective implementation of anti-money laundering / counter terrorism financing (AML/CTF) standards in all ESAAMLG member countries covering: Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Establishing and enhancing veterinary surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
This project aims to help establish effective surveillance for longer term capacity building for AMR in the terrestrial and aquatic veterinary sectors in selected LMICs, and to enhance veterinary medicines regulatory training.
Decolonising Peace Education In Africa
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Looking to expand peace education curricula in the context of everyday settings in rural areas facing conflict. Benefits education sector, practitioners, local communities, NGOs in Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. SDGs:4,16,17
Building Equitable African Partnerships
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
The project aims to establish African-led equitable partnerships focusing on gender, conflict, and creative economies. Building on ten years of previous work in East and Southern Africa, it employs decolonial methodologies and participatory methods. The initiative spans Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda, and Lesotho, engaging local communities, activists, grassroots organizations, and stakeholders for broad-based participation and impact. Key themes include digital humanities and the creative economy, women and girls, and conflict/post-conflict humanitarian protection and modern slavery. The project acknowledges the digital divide while promoting inclusivity, primarily focusing on the creative economy. It emphasizes gender equality, addressing challenges faced by women and girls in conflict settings, and explores initiatives to combat modern slavery and promote peacebuilding. The methodology involves comprehensive stakeholder and rights holders identification and engagement, using open calls and mapping to include disadvantaged groups and historically disadvantaged universities. Standards for decolonization ensure equitable management, ethics, data sovereignty, and dissemination. Risk mitigation addresses potential exploitation, inter-group dynamics, and controversial topics through active listening and transparency. The project is divided into four phases: workshop preparation (July - October 2024), two-day workshops (October-November 2024), co-producing outputs (December 2024 - March 2025), and ongoing meetings for future actions (April and May 2025). Gender equality is central, ensuring equal opportunities for participation, leadership, and decision-making. Targeted outreach and a gender-sensitive budget facilitate the involvement of women and underrepresented genders. The project promotes gender equality, reducing discrimination, and fostering solidarity among women. A comprehensive risk assessment and monitoring mechanisms address potential negative impacts on gender equality. The project aims to stimulate innovation, build local capacities, empower marginalized groups, and create sustainable impacts. By enhancing gender equality and fostering relationships between policymakers, decision-makers, civil society, and government officials, it contributes to Sustainable Development Goals like gender equality, decent work and economic growth, and partnerships for the goals.
Building the foundation for geodetic excellence in Africa through the Africa-UK Physics Partnership
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Geodesy measures the Earth’s time-variable size, shape, and gravity. Its role is fundamental to various scientific areas, such as navigation and mapping, climate change, engineering, meteorology, and natural hazards. The precise geographical information systems (GIS) produced by geodesy are essential for delivering services to people, households, and businesses, administering land rights and development permits, and developing and maintaining national and regional infrastructures to access water, waste management, electricity, transport, schooling, health facilities, markets, and security. As a result, geodesy has been noted to contribute directly and indirectly to all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the status of geodetic infrastructure on the African continent needs to be fully documented, and the existing infrastructure must be made more extensive to enable African nations to participate in and contribute to global geodesy effectively. This project seeks to address these challenges by laying the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding and enhancement of the geodetic infrastructure in Africa. It will assess the current state of geodetic equipment, computational infrastructure, and human capacity across critical African nations, including South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. By conducting a detailed inventory and analyses of existing resources, the project will identify critical gaps and opportunities for enhancement and strategically plan for new infrastructure development. The project will tackle these challenges by using advanced simulation techniques to assess where new infrastructure would be most beneficial, ensuring that future investments are strategically targeted and cost-effective for maximal impact. This foundational work is essential for enabling Africa to build a robust and sustainable geodetic infrastructure that aligns with global standards and meets the continent's unique needs. One of the most significant benefits of this project is its potential to substantially enhance Africa’s contribution to global geodesy. By laying the groundwork for improved infrastructure and capacity, the project will enable African nations to play a more active role in international geodetic initiatives, such as those outlined in the UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/266, "A Global Geodetic Reference Frame for Sustainable Development." This will benefit the scientific community and support policymakers in making informed decisions related to many areas, such as climate change, disaster management, and urban planning. In addition to its scientific and policy implications, the project will have broader societal benefits. By promoting awareness of the importance of geodesy and encouraging greater participation from underrepresented groups, particularly women, the project will contribute to a more inclusive and diverse geodetic community in Africa. Furthermore, the knowledge and skills gained through this project will have applications beyond geodesy, supporting advancements in environmental monitoring, agriculture, and infrastructure development. In summary, this project aims to establish a solid foundation for the future development of geodetic infrastructure in Africa, ensuring that the continent is well-positioned to meet its own needs while contributing to global geodetic science. The project will create the conditions necessary to establish GGOS Africa, an affiliate of the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), through detailed infrastructure assessment, capacity building, and strategic planning. This regional body will coordinate geodetic activities and further integrate Africa into the global geodetic community.
(2REST) Responsibilities for Resilience Embedded in Street Temporalities: mapping street youth lived resiliences through analysis of secondary data
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
2REST aims to explore the experinces of homeless street youth and their resilient reponses to diffculties as they grow up in contexts of stress and vulnerability in African cities. Through secondary data analysis of the Growing up on the Streets qualitative data, the objective is to go beyond individual person-centred responses to stress and understand the multiple systems involved in overcoming difficulties over space and time as young people grow up. The resulting evidence will provide a better understanding of street youth resilience and all the factors involved. The 2REST project further aims to translate these findings and apply the learning to outcomes for policy and practice in order to improve street youth lives.
'Highlight' Health financing for universal health coverage in the era of shocks, monitoring risks and opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
"The proposed research draws on the World Health Organization framework for monitoring progress towards UHC. The framework identifies three areas for monitoring: financing arrangements; intermediate outcomes of efficiency and equity; and UHC goals of service coverage and affordable health expenditures. Our research applies this framework to assess health financing at the national and subnational levels in five Sub-Saharan African countries with varied degrees of fiscal decentralisation and income levels: Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Our research describes the evolution of health financing arrangements before and after COVID-19, and progress in relation to efficiency and equity of health financing and UHC goals. This research draws on routine household surveys, government and donor expenditure information systems, and global data from the World Health Organzaition and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development" COVID-19
SAMRC-run UK South Africa call on climate, one health and zoonosis
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Six research projects have been supported focusing on emerging, re-emerging, and endemic zoonotic, vector-borne and other diseases and antimicrobial resistance that are linked to climate change and the environment. Projects will looks at the transmission dynamics of relevant diseases across various environmental settings and will look at methods for early detection and surveillance. This activity is led and delivered by SAMRC, who will issue research grants that are led by South African investigators with UK-based co-investigators and the opportunity to involve coinvestigators across Africa. Working in this way will promote equitable partnerships within the projects and ensure that the research funding delivers on the priorities of the primary beneficiary country involved (South Africa) as well as the possibility to deliver on the priorities of other beneficiary countries across Africa.
SAMRC-run UK South Africa call on Non-Communicable Diseases including Mental Health
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Five research projects have been supported to focus on NCDs and mental health. Projects will look to improve our understanding of disease mechanisms, presentation and progression and inform innovative prevention and treatment strategies. This activity is led and delivered by SAMRC, who will issue research grants that are led by South African investigators with UK-based co-investigators and the opportunity to involve coinvestigators across Africa. Working in this way will promote equitable partnerships within the projects and ensure that the research funding delivers on the priorities of the primary beneficiary country involved (South Africa) as well as the possibility to deliver on the priorities of other beneficiary countries across Africa.
Tackling antimicrobial resistance across dentistry in Sub-Saharan Africa.
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
What's the challenge? Tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is crucial for global health and sustainable development. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), like Ghana and Uganda, are particularly affected. UK Government has pledged to play a leading role in improving health to deliver a safer and more prosperous world, including through an improved response to AMR. Globally, dental professionals are responsible for one-in-ten antibiotic prescriptions across human healthcare. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), dental teams are among the highest prescribers of antibiotics, with some studies finding nine out of ten prescriptions outside of guidance. Dental teams in SSA have an essential role to play in keeping antibiotics working. What are the aims and objectives of our research? We aim to develop and test ways for dental teams to play their part in tackling AMR in SSA. Our first objective is to understand what influences unnecessary dental antibiotic use in Ghana and Uganda. Our second objective is to work with dental teams and patients as well as policy makers, healthcare service managers and the general public to develop an evidence-based way to reduce antibiotic prescribing by dental professionals. Our final objective is to prepare for an African-led clinical trial to test whether our proposed approach works. How are we approaching it? First, to understand what drives unnecessary antibiotic prescribing by dental professionals, we will ask a range of people and observe dental visits in hospitals and community healthcare settings in Ghana and Uganda. The observed dental teams and patients will be invited to interview to share their experience and insights about what influenced decision making during the visit. To gain wider perspectives on managing dental infections, policy makers, healthcare service managers and members of the public will be invited to take part in interviews and/or focus groups. Next, we will work with our stakeholders to develop evidence-based ways to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing using information gathered in the first stage. Whilst we are not yet sure what these interventions will be, we think they might relate to hygiene and sterilisation procedures in dental clinics, prescribing guidelines, and education for dental teams. Finally, we will undertake eight in-depth case studies in urban and more rural areas of Ghana and Uganda to check whether the intervention is acceptable to dental teams and patients, and to prepare for a clinical trial by testing some of the details needed to make a trial practical. What will be the applications and benefits? The study results will form the basis of a grant application to conduct a clinical trial that evaluates the impact of the interventions on safely reducing antibiotic prescribing by dental professionals across SSA whilst still addressing patients' dental issues. The benefits of this research include expanding scientific knowledge about the factors influencing antibiotic prescribing by dental professionals in LMICs. Developing interventions to reduce antibiotic prescribing is just the first step; further testing will be needed. Ultimately, by reducing antibiotic prescribing in dentistry, this research will have a positive impact on global health and sustainable development by addressing AMR. Publicity To ensure visibility of the study and its findings, our research team members and collaborators will engage our stakeholders and audience through various channels, including their expert professional networks, social and other media, academic publications/conferences, and more novel ways using local traditional arts, story, illustrations and visual aids. Lay members from the UK, Ghana and Uganda will help create a plain English summary (and translation to local languages) for the public, and will ensure messaging promotes broader understanding and awareness of the important role of dental teams to keep antibiotics working.
DARA Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy Phase 3
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
This proposal is to continue, deepen and expand the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) project. DARA is a human capital development programme with the principal aim to develop high tech skills in radio astronomy in the eight developing African countries that partner with South Africa in the hosting of the mid-frequency telescope of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The first two phases utilized the Newton Fund and delivered a basic training to over 300 young people as well as Masters and PhD level training. This proposal is once again a bilateral UK-SA project bidding for Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding as part of the Tomorrow's Talent strand of the new International Science Partnership Fund (ISPF). In this new phase we will extend the HCD pipeline to establish postdoctoral fellows in African partner institutions for the first time. The aim is to complete the establishment of radio astronomy research groups in each partner country so that their citizens can fully engage with the SKA project. We will also continue the basic and Masters level training programme. This third phase will also encompass elements of the DARA Big Data sister project to deepen the training in machine learning techniques required to analyse SKA data and embed synergies with Earth Observation data. We will also continue and expand our partnership with the space sector to showcase how the skills of radio astronomy can be utilized to address development challenges in Africa. The industrial partners also bring entrepreneurship and business start-up experience. Overall, the DARA project addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of increasing high tech skills, research activity and international cooperation.
REACH-PSM: Resilient Renewable Energy Access Through Community-Driven Holistic Development in Perovskite Solar Module Manufacturing
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Context Energy inequality continues to hamper socio-economic growth in many African nations, where millions lack reliable access to electricity. Traditional energy sources are expensive, environmentally damaging, and dependent on external supplies, which limits their sustainability and accessibility. The REACH-PSM project (Resilient Renewable Energy Access Through Community-Driven Holistic Development in Perovskite Solar Module Manufacturing) aims to revolutionise energy access by enabling the local development and manufacturing of sustainable perovskite solar modules (PSMs) in Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa. The Challenge With >500 million people in Africa without electricity, there is an urgent need for scalable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable energy solutions. Current renewable technologies, while beneficial, often fail to address local contexts and can result in significant environmental waste, particularly from end-of-life photovoltaic systems. The challenge lies in developing a localised manufacturing process for next-generation solar technology that is both cost-effective and sustainable, with simultaneous development of efficient end-of-life treatment to mitigate waste, allowing for widespread adoption across Africa. Aims and Objectives The REACH-PSM project seeks to accelerate the development and commercialisation of PSMs by focusing on the following objectives: Delivering commercially competitive low-cost manufacturing of PSMs in partner locations in Africa with a performance of >15% PCE and a lifetime of >10 years. Developing novel components of PSMs, and identification of domestic green supply-chains to enable regional manufacture and improve sustainability. Delivering PSMs designed for the circular economy with optimised end-of-life processing, minimising waste and maximising the circular flow of materials delivering enhanced commercial viability, sustainability, and resource security. Creating novel sustainable business models and community co-designed products that are suitable and appropriate for use. Potential Benefits The REACH-PSM project will accelerate the transforming energy access agenda in Africa by pioneering the development of locally manufacturable PSM, demonstrating the first next generation solar module manufacturing in Africa. This localised production will not only empower communities by fostering energy independence and creating jobs but also set a new standard for sustainable energy solutions. By utilising sustainable materials and processes, the project will also address the environmental challenges associated with traditional solar technologies, offering a more resilient and adaptable energy solution. Ayrton Challenge Areas The project addresses the Next Generation Solar Challenge Area. REACH-PSM advances perovskite technology, which offers the potential of more distributed solar manufacturing thanks to low-cost processing and manufacturing routes. REACH-PSM will collaborate across the Ayrton Fund portfolio to amplify impact. We will align with the Ayrton Challenge on Energy Storage, the LEIA programme, the Climate Compatible Growth Project, and the Zero Emission Generators initiative, exploring synergies in local manufacturing, circular economy principles, and sustainable energy solutions. ODA Compliance REACH-PSM is fully compliant with ODA criteria, as it directly addresses the economic and social challenges of Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, and South Africa—countries listed on the OECD DAC. By focusing on localised manufacturing and sustainable energy solutions, the project promotes economic development and improves the welfare of communities most in need. The expected outcomes include significant advancements in energy access, environmental sustainability, and economic empowerment, aligning with the broader goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG13 (Climate Action). We also seek to advance progress towards SDG5 (Gender Equality), SDG9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG10 (Reduced Inequality), SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).
Frugal Innovation for Societally-Important Challenges in Africa (FISICA)
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Historically, Physics is seen to be a key driver of novel techniques and instrumentation that draw on our advances in scientific understanding. Such instrumentation often plays a critical role in helping to solve societal challenges in areas such as agriculture, climate change, energy generation, and healthcare. Sadly, much state-of-the-art technology is prohibitively expensive for developing countries, limiting its adoption. Here, we will bring together partners from the UK and several African countries – Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania – to collaborate on developing cost-effective instrumentation. The two types of instrumentation to be worked on are a hyperspectral imager and a gamma-ray spectrometer: A hyperspectral imager is an instrument that can be used to analyse fine details of the light reflected by the leaves of plants in different parts of the visible or infra-red spectrum. The properties of this reflected light turn out to be very sensitive to the health of plants or crops. In this manner, a hyperspectral imager can be a major benefit to monitoring of crops and other aspects of agricultural development. A gamma-ray spectrometer is an instrument that is sensitive to gamma radiation. Gamma radiation is emitted from so-called naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) found in certain rocks, minerals and soils. A gamma-ray spectrometer can both quantify the radiation and identify its origin. This project will begin with two workshops: one in the UK and one in South Africa. The workshops will be facilitated by experts in innovation to help the project partners co-create mini projects making use of the novel instrumentation to address challenges specific to their own localities, with a particular focus on issues such as agriculture and climate change. The project will deliberately challenge people to work in a highly interdisciplinary way and collaborate with other researchers well outside their immediate field of expertise. Impacts are expected not only in technology development but also from the field trials to be carried out with the novel instruments. The project will also lead to capability building and upskilling of significant numbers of early career researchers at universities and organisations across several Africa countries. The project builds on existing strong collaborations between the University of York in the UK and three Universities in South Africa: University of Pretoria (UP), University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the University of Zululand (UZ). Indeed, this new project will, in part, exploit earlier STFC investments (Funder Award Reference ST/S003118/1) that built the Modern African Nuclear DEtector LAboratory (MANDELA) at the two historically disadvantaged universities, UWC and UZ.
Temperature-sensitive Earth-abundant Catalysts for green Hydrogen production
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Hydrogen production via water electrolysis technology has been a major focus of discussions for practical carbon-neutral transportation fuel and a key component for other chemical syntheses for the past decade. Particularly, Africa’s total announced electrolyser pipeline capacity has reached 114 gigawatts. However, the costs of water electrolysis to be reported in the range of 2-5 £/kg H2, which is still twice as expensive as the existing fossil fuel-based technologies. Among various electrolyser technologies for hydrogen production, alkaline water electrolysis is considered to be the most mature type for industrial scale-up and has strong cost-effectiveness. Despite these advantages, its cold-start nature, unfortunately, requires a certain ramping-up time (approximately 1 hour). This makes it challenging to integrate with renewable energy sources, which are difficult to predict. Alkaline water electrolysis at elevated starting temperatures offers a promising solution to enhance catalytic reactivity and reduce required electric energy, increasing cost-effectiveness. The cobalt- and nickel-based catalysts, known for their prominent temperature dependence, could be the key to enhancing the hydrogen production rate. In this study, we aim to establish a feasible fabrication method of temperature-sensitive catalysts for alkaline water electrolysis and to explore the multi-element catalysts' physical and chemical bonding structure change at elevated temperature conditions. Exploring the underlying mechanism of intrinsic kinetics change is a challenging yet crucial step towards more efficient and cost-effective hydrogen production. The ultimate goal of the proposed collaboration entitled "Temperature-sensitive Earth-abundant Catalysts for green HYDROgen production (TECHydro)" is not to develop new catalysts but to discover new combinations that have a high-temperature sensitivity and explore underlying principles, giving rise to fresh perspectives of the developed catalyst for their application to AWE. The outcomes will provide a methodological achievement in cost-effective catalyst preparation. Moreover, the project will make a rigid bridge for further joint-research funding applications and staff exchange between African (South Africa and Kenya) and UK partners. We believe that the outcomes of this study could set benchmarks for hydrogen production that operates more efficiently in South Africa and Kenya's hot climate, contributing to the global transition towards a hydrogen economy.
Fluconazole plus flucytosine vs fluconazole alone for cryptococcal antigen-positive patients identified through screening: A randomised trial
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
MRC Joint Global Health Trial to determine Fluconazole plus flucytosine vs fluconazole alone for cryptococcal antigen-positive patients identified through screening: A randomised trial. The trial aims to compare the efficacy of an oral combination of fluconazole plus flucytosine with fluconazole alone (the current recommended treatment) in reducing all-cause mortality in advanced HIV patients in Tanzania and South Africa.
Designing an intervention for snakebite prevention; a community-based participatory research approach
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
MRC AGHRB Award to design an intervention to prevent snakebite in Rwanda and Eswatini that will subsequently be evaluated, potentially using a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial
Recognising & supporting informal mhealth in Africa through grassroots interventions (REIMAGINE)
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
MRC AGHRB award to develop and trial a participatory intervention, to build on and support community health workers' (CHWs') "informal" use of personal mobile devices in their work in Ethiopia, Ghana and Malawi. A pre/post study design is used to assess acceptability, feasibility, costs and impacts of the intervention.
NbS programme non-grant expenditure
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Programme level costs for the NbS (Equitable nature-based climate resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa) for programme coordination and data management activities.
Halophyte-based Energy & Agro-ecological Transitioning (HEAT)
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
The Halophyte-based Energy & Agro-ecological Transitioning (HEAT) Project seeks to commercialise halophytic agro-ecological approaches and bio-energy technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa by introducing saltwater-irrigated biomass production in degraded soils for localised transitions to clean energy and land regeneration. Targeting both bio-energy production and carbon sequestration, the project will test a combined integrated production and processing model in tandem with a service-based business model with existing partners and investors with the aims of operationalising/commercialising the results by the end of the project timeline. The project will be undertaken in Ghana and Namibia with a range of partners from the UK, EU, and African registered entities with a track record of working together in various global geographies. With a strong focus on socio-economic development for rural communities, gender inclusivity, and safe access to clean energy, HEAT expects to exploit the results of the 24-month project for the long-term benefit of communities and existing consortia in the three focus regions of West Africa, South-West Africa, and South Asia.