Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use to Improve Global Health

9, Oct 2023

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges (GC) partners including GC Africa, GC Brazil, GC Ethiopia, GC India, and GC Senegal, is delighted to announce the launch of a groundbreaking initiative. Through our Grand Challenges South Africa program, we are inviting applications for projects that aim to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance global health in an equitable manner.

This call by the various GC partners is a follow-up to the initial call by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation representing collaborative steps towards identifying, nurturing, and catalyzing the creativity, energy, and skills that researchers, implementers, governments, and technical partners have demonstrated in solving specific challenges in their countries and regions through LLMs. We are optimistic that this family of related AI RFPs will provide a platform for potentially transformative solutions to improve the lives and conditions for numerous vulnerable communities.

This RFA seeks innovative approaches to the use of LLMs (such as ChatGPT-4, or other credible sources with equivalent capability) to advance global public health. Given the numerous open and non-open-source AI tools, we encourage the applicant to select the tool most appropriate to their use case and context.

The RFP is looking for projects that aim to solve problems in the following areas:

(1) Clinical Decision Support, (2) Population Health & Policymaking, (3) Support for Frontline Health Workers, (4) Health Communications & Patient Journeys and (5) Health Systems Strengthening.

Funding Level: This request for proposals will provide grants up to USD $100,000 (± ZAR 1,600,000) for a period of up to 12 months. 

Geography of interest: South Africa. The project needs to be led by investigators who are citizens or permanent residents of South Africa. Global partners may be included, but proposals must demonstrate at least 80% of the funding is going to an organization located in South Africa. Application budgets should be commensurate with the scope of work proposed.

View or download the full Request for Applications: Catalyzing Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use to Improve Global Health

All applications must be submitted through the SAMRC Application Portal, which can be accessed via the highlighted link below. Additionally, it is essential to provide the necessary supporting documents along with the application submission:

SAMRC Application Portal:

Supporting Documentation required: To complete your application, supporting documentation listed below is required. To access the templates, simply click on the highlighted documents provided below. Once you have completed the templates, kindly submit the supporting documentation by uploading it through the SAMRC application portal.

Full Budget
Institutional Approval
Curriculum Vitae for the Investigators

Please direct any queries or requests for information on this RFA to: Karabo Kgomo (Karabo.Kgomo@mrc.ac.za)

Applications received after the closing date and time will not be considered for funding.

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