The Research and Innovation Directorate (RID) is pleased to inform the University community that applications are now open for the Addressing Neglected Areas of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa (ANeSA) funding opportunity.

The ANeSA initiative supports implementation research aimed at addressing critical and underexplored sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. The programme seeks to generate evidence that informs policy and practice, strengthens health systems, and improves access to quality SRHR services, particularly for underserved and vulnerable populations.

Addressing Neglected Areas of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in sub-Saharan Africa (ANeSA) is an initiative co-funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). ANeSA aims to support greater realization of neglected sexual and reproductive health and rights by under-served populations, including women and girls, men and boys, and gender diverse people, in sub-Saharan Africa. 

ANeSA five priority areas are:  

• Improving access to family planning and contraceptive services 
• Expanding access to safe abortion care, where legally permitted, and post-abortion care (APAC) 
• Upholding SRHR rights and ensuring access to services for adolescents 
• Preventing sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) and improving services for people experiencing SGBV 
• Strengthening advocacy for SRHR 

ANeSA focuses on advocacy as both a priority area for implementation research and an expected outcome across all areas of SRHR. Implementation research projects implementing, evaluating, adapting, and scaling evidence-informed, community-informed SRHR advocacy initiatives would therefore be eligible for funding. This is intended to generate and translate evidence on gender-transformative advocacy interventions as well as address the lack of evidence on how to effectively link and translate advocacy initiatives to build system sustainability and accountability across all areas of SRHR.

 Award Amount:                                                                                                  

Funding: Up to CAD 1.2 million per successful application

 Deadline: Sunday, August 23, 2026 - 00:00 ET

 Eligibility:

• The proposed research project must take place in at least one eligible country in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Principal Applicants must be affiliated with organizations based in one of the eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

 For more information, kindly visit: https://idrc-crdi.ca/en/initiative/addressing-neglected-areas-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-sub-saharan-africa

 All interested persons are to communicate their intention to apply to the RID Grants Management Office for institutional guidance and support before the deadline at rid-grantsmgt@ug.edu.gh with rocran@ug.edu.gh in copy.