DBT to jointly fund global research to address health needs of women and children

The joint funders have highlighted four priority areas – anaemia, STD, gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disorders

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in India, in collaboration with Department of International Development (DFID), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), have announced a second joint call to fund global health research addressing the health needs of women and children globally. Originally launched in 2014, this programme aims to fund world-class and cutting edge research which addresses the health needs of the most disadvantaged populations.

For the second activity under this programme the joint funders are calling for research that will impact the ability to prevent, diagnose and manage prevalent chronic and infectious diseases facing women and their unborn children in low- and middle-income (LMIC) settings. Research addressing these health issues will aim to have a positive effect on the life-course of the mother and her unborn children.

The joint funders have highlighted four priority areas that disproportionately affect women of a low socio-economic status in LMIC countries and which will be the focus of this call. Proposals should only address the following issues:

• Anaemia (including Iron, Folate and B12 deficiency related conditions)

• Sexually transmitted diseases

• Gestational diabetes mellitus and

• Hypertensive disorders

It is expected that research will provide evidence on interventions for the prevention, diagnosis and management of the above diseases. Proposals should be multidisciplinary and include social science in order to understand the social, cultural, economic and political factors affecting likely uptake and implementation of these interventions. In line with developments in global health research, it is a particular steer of this call that proposals must engage with the role of both women and men in developing interventions that address the above challenges to ensure the appropriateness and increased likelihood of uptake.

The purpose of this call is to fund projects developed in partnership by researchers from the UK, India and low income countries (LICs) to work together in trilateral research teams. For the purpose of this call, an LIC is those countries that fall into the first two columns of the OECD DAC list available here. Bids must include applicants from eligible institutions from the UK, India and an LIC and the research must be based in an Indian and LIC setting to be eligible.