University Of Liberia, Others Receive USAID Grant

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently announced a US$15 million project aimed at establishing a public-private-academic hub for research utilization in the Liberian health sector.

The funds are part of USAID’s Bringing Research to Impact for Development, Global Engagement, and Utilization (BRIDGE-U) partnership project.

Collaboratively, Yale University, Vanderbilt University, and University of Liberia College of Health Sciences will create the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation in Liberia.

This committal comes as a result of these Universities’ joint project titled “Applying Research for a Healthy Liberia (AR4HL)” and runs from June 11, 2021, to June 10, 2026.

UL College of Health Sciences Vice President and Principal investigator Bernice Dahn, reflecting on the significance of the much-needed project said that many donor-funded projects implement programming without building systems to install long-term institutional knowledge or capacity for independent initiatives within the host country institutions but the group have designed this project with systems-building and institutional sustainability at its core which will guarantee results.

The project is expected to impact long-term research and training collaboration throughout Liberia’s health sector and institutionalize income-generating activities and administrative systems.

AR4HL will transition to a national public-private-academic research and training hub at the end of the project.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt University Principal investigator Marie Martin, Assistant Professor of Global Health and Assistant Director of VIGH, hailed the grant as an incredible next step at growing the partnership and capacity of what is already implemented to strengthen medical training, subspecialty capacity, and research training in Liberia.

Applying Research for a Healthy Liberia stretches beyond hosting faculty development training based on the team’s existing research but also addresses Liberia’s undeniable need for mentoring students in science and research.

A secondary school program, Camp xSEL is designed to prepare young Liberians, especially girls, to pursue higher education in science and to engage in research.