Summary
CHINNOVA: Driving Climate-Resilient Health Research Across West and Central Africa
The Climate Change and Health Innovation Hub for West and Central Africa (CHINNOVA), led by the Association of African Universities (AAU) in partnership with WASCAL, the Institut Pasteur de la Côte d'Ivoire (IPCI), and Omar Bongo University (UOB), is pleased to announce its Second Call for Research Proposals. This call invites universities, accredited research institutes, NGOs with a research mandate, and other institutions engaged in climate and health research to submit innovative, interdisciplinary proposals that generate robust evidence and strengthen capacity to inform policies and interventions addressing the health impacts of climate change across Africa.
CHINNOVA, part of the Advancing Research for Climate and Health programme funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), serves as a regional platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and capacity strengthening. Through its work, the Hub strengthens research ecosystems, promotes regional cooperation, and supports evidence-informed policies for resilient and sustainable health systems.
Funding Available
A total of USD 1,000,000 has been allocated under this call to fund a portfolio of impactful projects. A minimum of five projects will be selected, with each eligible for up to USD 200,000 over a 24-month period, with final funding based on the quality and relevance of proposals received.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants who submitted proposals under the first Call for Proposals (2025) are not eligible to apply under the present Call.
To be eligible, applicants must:
Be a legally registered organization headquartered in one of the eligible countries. Eligible institutions include:
- Universities and accredited research institutes.
- Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with a research mandate.
- Public or private institutions engaged in health or climate research.
Demonstrate evidence of:
- Prior experience conducting relevant research.
- Financial management capacity to administer grants of this size.
Commit to:
- Engage stakeholders and decision-makers throughout the project.
- Share data and results in accordance with the data and knowledge-sharing policies of CHINNOVA, IDRC & UK FCDO.
- Adhere to a M&E framework of CHINNOVA. The CHINNOVA roadmap is provided in Annex 3.
- Adhere to IDRC and UK FCDO principles, including safeguarding, ethics, and value for money.
- Partnerships with regional and international collaborators are encouraged, but the lead applicant’s primary affiliation must be in an eligible African institution headquartered in the countries listed in Section 3 (i.e., Geographical Coverage, Due Diligence, and Approval Requirements) of the Call.
This Call for proposals will not fund individuals. It focuses on supporting research teams and established institutions to ensure sustainability, knowledge translation and use for climate climate-resilient health system.
To submit proposals as a consortium, please note the following:
- A consortium must consist of at least one academic and/or research institution.
- A consortium must include at least one civil society partner (e.g., Local community associations, cooperatives, NGOs, etc.).
- A consortium must be coordinated by a partner based in an eligible country of West or Central Africa.
- The same person can serve as project coordinator or principal investigator for only one proposal. However, he can be a member of multiple consortia.
- Consortia which submit proposals are required to give notice of any submission of the same or similar proposals with other funding programmes as well as of the grants received as a result of such submission. CHINNOVA reserves the right to reconsider the award of funds if the respective project consortium fails to give notice of double submission or of the funding received as a result of such submission.
Single institutions willing to submit a proposal must provide a core team to oversee the implementation following the conditions of the application process. A single person team proposals are not eligible.
Details
Eligible Countries
Applications are welcomed from institutions based in Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, with strong encouragement for cross-border collaboration and multi-country approaches.
How to Apply
All submissions must be made through the CHINNOVA Grants Management Portal via the following link: https://grants.chinnova.aau.org/
Institutions and research teams across the region are invited to apply and contribute to advancing climate and health research in Africa.
Deadline for Submission: 8th May 2026 (4:00 PM GMT)
Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. CHINNOVA is committed to promoting inclusive, equity-driven research across the region.
For enquiries, please contact: chinnova@aau.org | chinnova-manager@aau.org
