Global Health Supply Chain Research Challenge: Fostering Resilient Supply Chains through Research Grants .
We aim to foster high-quality researchers to develop customized, context-specific solutions for resilient and self-reliant global health supply chains in low- and middle-income countries.
Chemonics, in partnership with the Global Health Research Challenge (GHSC) Group, launched the first-ever Global Health Supply Chain Research Challenge in 2021. Through the challenge, we provide seed grants to local research teams studying challenges and innovative solutions in global health supply chains and pharmaceutical management in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with the aim of producing bespoke solutions that are appropriate for the context and able to be scaled to other countries. Research proposals cover a wide range of key supply chain themes including: Data-Driven Supply Chains, Supply Chain Sustainability and Self-Reliance, Localization, Private Sector Engagement, and Supply Chain Risk Management and Resiliency.
To be selected, all submissions go through an independent review committee comprised of representatives from the Global Health Supply Chain Summit Group and Chemonics. The winning team conducts their research over one year with support from the Chemonics SC PMT and the GHSC Group, then presents their findings at the GHSC Summit at the end of the year. In the 3 years since we’ve launched the challenge, it has drawn an increasingly large pool of applicants from nearly every continent in the world and a variety of sectors. In 2023, we received a record-breaking 115 submissions.
Every year, we announce the call for proposals in early fall and winners are announced at the GHSC Summit.
2024-2025 Research Teams
The 2024-2025 Research Challenge was awarded to two teams this year.
The first winning team was a group of investigators from Nigeria, comprised of researchers from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and King Serena Pharmacy. Their research will assess the impact of interventions to improve adverse drug reaction reporting among community pharmacists in Ambara State.
The second winning team was a group of investigators from Ghana, comprised of researchers from the University of Ghana, who will assess how social and behavioral factors influence health commodity managers’ eLMIS utilization and leverage social and behavior change strategies to optimize utilization for efficient supply chain management at all levels of the health system.
Past Research Teams
2023-2024
The winner of the 2023-2024 Research Challenge was a group of investigators in Tanzania from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science, the Tanzania Medical Stores Department, and the University of Bradford. Their study assessed the economic and environmental burden of pharmaceutical waste in Tanzania and explored approaches for improving sustainability of the supply chain.
2022-2023
The winner of the 2022-2023 Challenge was a group of researchers from the Vihiga and Kisumu County governments in Kenya. They studied the utilization of data for decision making and performance of health supply chain management systems through a comparison of the two counties. Read more about their findings below:
2021-2022
The winner of our first-ever Research Challenge was a group of investigators from the Ghana Health Service’s National AIDS/STI Control Programme. Their study assessed supply chain management challenges during recent transitions in HIV management guidelines in Ghana. Read more about their findings below: