Deadline: 06-Oct-2025
The Gates Foundation seeks applications to fund partnerships, innovative methods, and tools that apply AI in transformative ways to address high-priority, real-world challenges in disease modeling for the African context.
Integrating diverse surveillance data—bringing together structured and unstructured data sources (such as genomics, wastewater surveillance, serosurveillance, climate, mobility, clinical, and epidemiological data) to enable greater combined insights to inform public health decisions and planning for risk prediction, burden of disease estimation, or outbreak detection and response. Use of AI to apply discrete disease models to routine surveillance data for endemic and/or outbreak-prone diseases, linking model outputs to public health guidance and producing AI-enabled decision support tools for intervention optimization, such as vaccine distribution.
Developing decision-support tools for ministries of health on resource allocation based on burden of disease and population health needs—creating accessible AI-driven platforms that leverage modeling to integrate health, population, financial, intervention, and logistical data to generate scenario options. Building AI tutors for modeling training—offering multilingual, customizable training and simulation tools to strengthen modeling skills and increase accessibility. Lowering barriers for non-technical users—designing AI-enabled interfaces and tools that allow frontline staff to run and interpret models, paired with governance and validation mechanisms to ensure trust.
By prioritizing these areas, the initiative aims to strengthen Africa’s ability to respond rapidly and effectively to public health threats. Collaborative approaches that unite innovators, modeling experts, and decision-makers will be central to reducing the time to actionable insights, improving intervention targeting, and ensuring real-world public health impact.
To be considered for funding, proposals must include strong involvement from African public health institutions such as ministries of health, national public health institutes, or government research centers. Preference is given to projects led by principal investigators based at African institutions or those that include co-principal investigators from African organizations. The official support of public health authorities, demonstrated through participation or letters of endorsement, is a key requirement to ensure national alignment and public health utility.
Proposals must clearly address the objectives of this RFP, demonstrate collaboration with public health institutions, and show a credible pathway to impact within a two-year period. Primary data collection is not supported, but projects may focus on integrating existing data and adapting AI tools for decision-making. Responsible data governance, transparency, and sharing of results or tools are emphasized as critical components.
The evaluation process will proceed in three stages, beginning with initial submissions, followed by reviewer feedback and possible interviews, and concluding with full proposal invitations for shortlisted projects. Submissions will be judged on alignment with convening priorities, potential for transformative impact, innovation, feasibility, end-user engagement, partnership strength, sustainability, inclusion, and responsible data stewardship.
The deadline for submission is 06 October 2025, and selected projects will be funded for up to two years, with the aim of translating innovation into sustained adoption and measurable public health benefits.
For more information, visit Gates Foundation.
