Up to one-third of annual global snakebite deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with an upper estimate of 32 000 per year. However, there remain several uncounted deaths and incomplete assessment of morbidity due to snakebite. The 2019 WHO roadmap has a clearly stated goal of halving snakebite deaths and disability worldwide by 2030. The African Snakebite Alliance, funded by Wellcome Trust, aims to improve health outcomes for people affected by snakebite envenoming by addressing evidence gaps in policy and practice in Africa. Via these open grants, the Alliance will attract new talent across disciplines and at different career stages to conduct high-quality research on snakebite envenoming to fill the evidence gaps in policy and practice.

In this call, two different types of proposals will be funded:
– Two Network research proposals, which should be for 2 years with a maximum budget
of £100,000 per proposal
– Two Postdoc research proposals, which should be for 2 years with a maximum budget
of £50,000 per proposal

Priority areas for funding
For this second round, the Alliance is seeking proposals with innovative approaches, following a high-quality research methodology with clear outcome measures. Applicants should clearly state the potential for further translation and wide-scale adoption. Network proposals are expected to demonstrate clear equitable contributions from all members of the team. 

The proposals submitted to this call are expected to address at least one of the activities related to communities.

 Potential research activities:
– Factors influencing human-snake interaction
– Effect of preventive measures
– Impact of awareness campaigns, peer-to-peer education and survival stories
– Interventions to improve health-seeking behaviour and/or access to care
– Interventions targeted at rehabilitation and reintegration into the community after the bite.