Engage people
How research happens matters as much as what it explores. Our work is informed by the priorities and perspectives of communities most affected.
Our major research partnerships in Africa and Asia
Experts across Africa and Asia are leading critical work to understand and address the biggest health challenges faced by their communities. We invest in people and partnerships across these continents to support local research for regional and global impact. Find out how they are improving health for millions of people.
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The people and communities who are most affected by the health challenges we take on also have the most to gain from the research we support.
Researchers in Africa and Asia are driving equitable science that delivers major health benefits for both local and global communities.
We fund and work through partnerships with major institutions, networks and funders in these continents to achieve better health outcomes.
Together, we’re strengthening leadership and engagement in research – and accelerating equitable discoveries and solutions where they are needed most.
Our partnership approach
Enable and invest in research
We support discoveries and solutions that build stronger health systems, ensure safer medicines and contribute to more equitable health outcomes for all.
Influence change
We promote and take actions to redress power imbalances and inequities in global health. We also advocate for evidence-informed health policies and practices.
Where we fund in Africa and Asia
Our eight major partnerships are led by institutions headquartered in South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, India, Vietnam and Thailand. They operate additional research sites and fund research projects across Africa, Asia and beyond. Each partner also trains the next generation of scientists and science leaders.
Research institutions
Africa Health Research Institute
A multidisciplinary independent research institute that combines population, basic, social and clinical sciences to understand and intervene in the health and wellbeing of South African communities. The institute was formed in 2016 and is based across two sites in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its main focus is on tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, given KwaZulu-Natal has one of the highest population prevalence rates for these diseases globally. It also advances research on adolescent mental health, particularly among TB and HIV infected people, and emerging and neglected diseases.
Find out more about the Africa Health Research Institute
KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme
A health research programme formed in partnership with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the University of Oxford in 1989. The programme aims to transform healthcare delivery by developing the next generation of interventions to prevent, control and treat diseases and reduce mortality. Initially focused on malaria research, its activities have expanded to include pathogen biology, vaccine development, clinical research, population health and health systems. The programme has partnership sites in Kenya and Uganda and works with local communities to ensure its research meets the needs of the people it aims to serve.
Find out more about the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme
Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Research Programme
A research programme that uses science to respond to the most pressing health challenges in Malawi and the wider region. These include high population density, maternal mortality, climate change, malnutrition, and endemic diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria. The programme was established in 1995 in partnership with Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Liverpool. It is situated within the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi’s largest government teaching hospital.
Find out more about the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme
Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit
A clinical and public health research unit headquartered in Thailand which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in low-resource settings in tropical regions. It has a focus on major infectious diseases including malaria, viral pathogens and drug-resistant infections. Established in 1979 in collaboration with Mahidol University and the University of Oxford, it is one of our longest-standing international partnerships. The research unit forms part of a wider Tropical Health Network with satellite units in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, and additional study sites across South and South East Asia.
Find out more about the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit
Oxford University Clinical Research Unit
A clinical and public health research unit for infectious diseases situated within the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Vietnam, with satellite sites in Ha Noi, Nepal and Indonesia. The unit was formed in 1991 in partnership with the University of Oxford and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Today, it is at the forefront of clinical and scientific research within South East Asia. It researches high-priority diseases in the region, such as tuberculosis, dengue and malaria, and strengthens research capacity through training programmes and infrastructure development.
Find out more about the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit
Funders
Science for Africa Foundation
A pan-African non-profit foundation that designs and funds science programmes to improve lives across the continent. Established in Kenya in 2021, it works in partnership with Wellcome and other organisations to invest in discovery, translational and implementation sciences. It partners with Wellcome in delivering strategic grants and initiatives across Africa. This includes the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science Initiative (DELTAS), the African Population Cohorts Consortium (APCC) and GEN-IMPACT. Beyond funding, the organisation convenes partnerships and networks and engages with policymakers to co-create solutions, strengthen Africa’s science ecosystem and drive socio-economic progress.
Find out more about the Science for Africa Foundation
India Alliance
The DBT/Wellcome India Alliance is an independent public charity that invests in biomedical and health research to solve health problems in India and beyond. We’ve co-funded the India Alliance since 2008 in partnership with the Government of India Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Its goal is to support a robust and enabling health research ecosystem in India. It does this by funding outstanding researchers and scientists, as well as cutting-edge research, to advance healthcare and scientific knowledge.
Find out more about the India Alliance
SEA DREAM
A programme which funds multi-country research to take on the most urgent and emerging health challenges in South East Asia. We developed SEA DREAM in 2024 in partnership with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation. The programme aims to transform health research in the region through collaboration, innovation and research leadership development. Its key areas of focus are public health priorities, infectious diseases, mental health and the impact of climate change on health.
Our partnerships in action
A new vaccine to protect young children in Malawi from typhoid
In Malawi, where typhoid is endemic, many children are at risk of infection. Researchers at the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme developed the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) which, unlike older vaccines, was designed to be suitable for young children and babies.
28,130 children aged between nine months and 12 years took part in the vaccine trial, making it the biggest study of its kind.
In 2021, the vaccine was found to be safe and more than 80% effective against typhoid.
A free and simple tool to monitor and tackle drug-resistant infections
While drug-resistant infections can affect anyone, anywhere, low- and middle-income countries have the highest burden. One issue is a lack of local data and research.
Researchers at Wellcome’s Mahidol-Oxford University Research Unit have created a tool to help measure and manage drug-resistant infections in Thailand.
The AutoMated tool for Antimicrobial resistance Surveillance System (AMASS) allows hospitals to easily log and analyse data on patients with drug-resistant infections. It also guides them on what steps they could take to minimise the issue of AMR locally.
An artificial intelligence system that forecasts dengue and its climate drivers in Vietnam
Rising temperatures and increasing rainfall caused by climate change are driving a rise in dengue cases.
Researchers at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit are creating an AI tool to forecast where and when dengue outbreaks are likely to occur in Vietnam, including the impacts of climate change. It could help the country’s public health system to target its efforts to control and cope with seasonal outbreaks of dengue.
The system is called Dengue Advanced Readiness Tools (DART) and is still under development.
Funding opportunities in Africa and Asia
In addition to our major partnerships in Africa and Asia, we fund research in these regions through our four strategic funding programmes. These are Climate and Health, Discovery Research, Infectious Disease and Mental Health.
Our funding supports early-career, mid-career and established researchers across a broad scope of research, including physical and social sciences, clinical research and humanities.
Contact us
Our Equitable Research Ecosystems team manages our investments in equitable and inclusive research ecosystems around the world. They expand diversity in research and enable the sharing of knowledge, skills and resources.
Connect with Julia:
Connect with Stephen:
Beenish Shaikh
Community Engagement and Partnerships Manager, South and South East Asia
Wellcome
Connect with Yolisa:
Duncan Collins-Adams
Community Engagement and Partnerships Manager, Africa
Connect with Jonathan:
Sonya Towers
Ecosystems Manager, UK and International
Wellcome
Faith Uwadiae
Ecosystems Manager, UK and International
Wellcome
Ruwa Mahdi
Ecosystems Manager, UK and International
For any questions about Wellcome’s major partnerships in Africa and Asia, please contact: