ICAP received a President’s Global Innovation Fund award for a two-year project to explore the achievements, challenges and opportunities of China’s health-related assistance aid to Africa.

ICAP will collaborate with the Global Health Initiative at the “Mailman School of Public Health”:http://www.mailman.columbia.edu/ and engage “Columbia University’s Global Centers”:http://globalcenters.columbia.edu/ in Africa/Nairobi and East Asia/Beijing to build collaborative research partnerships between Columbia University faculty and students and their counterparts in China and Africa to examine the characteristics of China’s health assistance to African countries. The aim is to engage faculty from Mailman School of Public Health, “School of Journalism”:http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/ and “School of International and Public Affairs”:https://sipa.columbia.edu/ as well as those from Tsinghua University and China Alliance for South South Health Cooperation Research in China and relevant African institutions. Through these partnerships, the project will aim to deepen the understanding of the types of health assistance provided, its strengths and weaknesses as well ways to strengthen and build on these investments.

“This is an opportunity to open dialogue and establish relationships among international health leaders, officials, faculty and students from Africa, China, and the United States,” said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, principal investigator and director of ICAP. “We can make inroads towards greater cross-national understanding and collaborate to help inform future research and policies, and ultimately advance the health and well-being of communities in Africa.”

The project will culminate in a high-level, multi-country symposium to share project findings, solidify cross-national linkages, and establish research agendas for future exploration.

This is ICAP’s second award from Columbia University’s President’s Global Innovation Fund.