Malawi
Fulbright-Fogarty Public Health Fellowship Award
Accepted Degree Levels
|
Grant PeriodFlexible StartGrant Length6-9 Months |
Award Type
Discipline-Specific Awards
Award Profile
The Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowships in Public Health are offered through a partnership between the Fulbright Program and the Fogarty International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. These awards were established to promote the expansion of research in public health and clinical research in resource-limited settings.
Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowships carry the same benefits as the traditional Fulbright Study/Research grants to the host country. The Fogarty International Center, NIH, will provide support to the research training site and may provide orientation for the fellows at the NIH.
For more details on Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowships and application instructions, please review the ‘Type of Awards’ page: https://us.fulbrightonline.org/applicants/types-of-awards/fulbright-fogarty-fellowships-in-public-health
Grant Length
Grant Period
Grants begin between October 2026 and March 2027, subject to the approval of the U.S. Embassy in Malawi.
Orientation
As a condition of their grants, all grantees may be required to participate in a Pre-Departure Orientation during the summer of 2026. Upon arrival, Fulbrighters will receive an in-country orientation and a security briefing.
In addition, Fulbright-Fogarty Fellows will be required to participate in a Pre-Departure Orientation with NIH in July.
Candidate Profile
Must be enrolled in an accredited doctoral-level program (MD, PhD, DDS, or comparable degree from an accredited institution) in public health, government, business, design, engineering, education, medicine, nutrition, law, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and nursing.
Eligible doctoral degrees include, but are not limited to: DMD, DC, DO, DVM, OD, DPM, ScD, EngD, DrPH, DNSc, DPT, PharmD, ND, DSW, PsyD, JD and Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing.
Health-professional students who wish to interrupt their studies for a year or more to engage in full-time research training before completing their formal training programs are also eligible.
By the start of the program year (July 2026), fellows must be an MD (and other professional degrees) student who has completed their 3rd year or a Ph.D. candidate who has completed their Master’s level requirements (i.e., post-qualifying exam).
What is life like for Fulbrighters in the host country?
Applicants are expected to research their host country. Application materials should indicate a clear commitment to the host country community and a description of how you will engage with it.
Welcome to the Warm Heart of Africa! Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi, is a wonderful place in which to live and work. The climate is agreeable year-round, people are friendly, traffic is calm, and personal security threats are relatively rare. Although we live in a comparatively “quiet” city by African standards, there are a variety of activities that keep our non-work hours filled. Outdoor sports/recreation, community festivals, and home entertaining play key roles in Lilongwe.
LOCATION: Malawi is a small landlocked country in Africa, south of the equator between latitude 9 degrees 45' and 17 degrees 16' south and between longitudes 33 degrees 35' east. Malawi is 46,066 square miles in area of which 9,425 square miles are Lakes Malawi, Malombe, and Chilwa. Among the smallest countries in Africa, Malawi is approximately the size of Pennsylvania. The country is bordered to the north and north-east by the Republic of Tanzania and to the east, south and south-west by the Republic of Mozambique. The Republic of Zambia forms the Western border.
CAPITAL AND MAJOR CITIES: Lilongwe was declared the capital in January 1975. All government ministries are in Lilongwe, but the bulk of media, academic, and commercial sectors remain in the southern cities of Blantyre and Zomba. Mzuzu is the largest city in the north.
AREA AND CLIMATE: The country is dominated by Lake Malawi which runs along much of the eastern border. The lake is 568 kilometers long and 16 kilometers wide, accounting for 20 percent of Malawi's total surface area. Malawi has a varied topography with mountains and rivers which have a direct effect on its climate.
Malawi has two main seasons, the dry and the wet. The wet season extends from November to April, and rainfall can reach between 635mm and 3050mm. From May to August, it is cool at night and dry. In September, it is hot and dry, with October and November being the hottest months.
The predominant vegetation of Malawi is the savannah woodland. Ever-green forests are found where ground water is plentiful as in river valleys and on mountains. Grasslands are found on high plateaus and river-basins.
POPULATION: Malawi has a population of over 20 million people with several ethnic groups. The Chewa are found in the central region. The Yaos are mostly found along the lakeshore districts of the central and southern regions. They are also found in Dedza, Machinga, Zomba, Blantyre, and Chiradzulu.
Lomwes are mainly found in the Shire Highlands areas of Thyolo and Mulanje while the Nkhonde, Lambya, Tonga, and Tumbuka are found in the north. The Ngoni are found in both the northern and central regions.
CULTURE: Malawian culture is very friendly and very formal. Initially, Malawian values and traditions may seem counterintuitive for visitors from the United States and will likely challenge American assumptions about independence and individuality. In Malawi, a traditional male-dominated hierarchy is respected. Speaking out of turn or speaking one’s opinion too vociferously is highly discouraged. Public shame in front of community and colleagues is to be avoided at all costs. On the other hand, the informal community “safety net” to support those in need is gracious and often automatic. A popular Malawian proverb states: “A single head does not carry a roof,” signifying that people are encouraged from an early age to work together and rarely take the initiative to solve problems alone.
Eligibility
Degree Level of Applicant
- Doctoral
Special Application Instructions
Select "Fulbright-Fogarty" for Award Type in the application. All Fulbright-Fogarty applicants pursuing a placement in Malawi should select “Public Health” as the Field of Study in the Fulbright application.
Foreign Language Evaluation (FLE) Form
If required, submission of the Foreign Language Evaluation (FLE) form is mandatory, even if you have advanced skills or are a native speaker of the language. Failure to submit the required FLE form may impact your eligibility.
Although English is the official language, knowledge of the local language where one will be researching is an added advantage.
Fulbright Proposal Types
Yes
No
Affiliation
Affiliation: Applicants are required to obtain a letter of support from the site contact.
When emailing project contacts, please include all contacts and attach a current CV and a concise statement (less than 500 words) about your interest in the program (especially your primary research interest).
Affiliation Fees/Tuition
Award Benefits
- A stipend broadly based on the cost of living in the host country. These funds may be used by the grantee to support housing, meals, and incidental costs during the grant period.
- International travel benefits
- Accident & sickness health benefits
- 24/7 mental health support line for urgent and non-urgent situations
- 12 months of non-competitive eligibility (NCE) hiring status within the federal government
Stipend Amount
This is an estimated amount and is subject to change. The financial terms of the grant will be confirmed in the grant document issued after selection.
One-Time Allowances
This is an estimated amount and is subject to change. The financial terms of the grant will be confirmed in the grant document issued after selection.
- Excess baggage fees
- Research/Materials allowance
- Settling in allowance
Estimated Cost of Living
Consider using cost of living comparison websites to gain a better understanding of the potential costs in your host country.
Many western goods have to imported and expensive. Inflation averages about 30 % and Malawi has experienced devaluations which have caused prices to increase significantly.
Dependents
Partners in Hope (PIH)
U.S. University Consortia: GloCal
Summary of Site
Partners in Hope (PIH) is a Malawian, non-governmental organization dedicated to tackling barriers to health care in resource-limited communities in Malawi, with a focus on HIV testing and treatment services. Since PIH’s founding in 2001, the Ministry of Health has continued to award PIH with certificates of excellence for HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) services. The organization has a longstanding relationship as a PEPFAR implementing partner (since 2009), providing HIV care and treatment programs in 101 health facilities throughout 8 of Malawi’s 28 districts. PIH works across programs, policy, science, clinical education, and health service delivery.
Primary Contacts
- Dr. Sam Phiri, GloCal PIH Site PI, samphiri@pihmalawi.com (contact for letter of affiliation)
- Dr. Craig Cohen, GloCal UCSF PI, craig.cohen@ucsf.edu (additional contact)
Areas of Focus
- HIV/AIDS research
- Infectious Disease
- Maternal-child health
- Mental Health
Language Requirement
None
UNC Project – Malawi
U.S. University Consortia: UJMT
Summary of Site
UNC has been conducting clinical research initially in HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) research in Malawi since 1990. In 1999, UNC Project Malawi was officially established as a collaboration between the UNC at Chapel Hill, Malawi Ministry of Health and Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi focusing on improving people's health through research, capacity building, and clinical care.
Primary Contacts
- Mina Hosseinipour – mina_hosseinipour@med.unc.edu
Areas of Focus
Fellows would be expected to work with U.S. and Malawi based mentor groups to develop an independent research project that could be integrated into one of the following projects:
- Infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS including prevention, treatment, opportunistic infections and co-morbidities, HIV/STI prevalence studies
- Malaria Prevention Research
- Non-communicable diseases including cancer research e.g., breast cancer, cervical cancer, esophageal cancer, lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma, and palliative care
- Surgery, trauma, burns, injury prevention
- Maternal and child health
- Mental health
- Transfusion Medicine and Blood Donation Practices
- Implementation Science research
Fellows can complete apprenticeship and also quality assurance clinical activities in clinical practice at Kamuzu Central Hospital.
Language Requirement
None
JHU – Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS)
U.S. University Consortia: UJMT
Summary of Site
The JHU research and training collaboration started in 1989 and since then, research and training activities have steadily increased with substantial achievements in infrastructure development.
Primary Contacts
- Sufia Dadabhai - sufia@jhu.edu
Areas of Focus
Fellows would be expected to work with U.S. and Malawi based mentor groups to develop an independent research project that could be integrated into one of the following projects or in a new area of interest:
- Child health
- HIV/AIDS
- Noncommunicable diseases
- Women’s health
Language Requirement
None
Research Clearance
Applicants must familiarize themselves with the country’s research requirements for foreign scholars as clearance may be required for some research projects.
Successful applicants must contact the National Commission for Science and Technology to determine whether they'll need to apply for research clearance, and gauge if their proposal fits the ethics criteria for conducting research in Malawi. The research clearance application, together with complete biographical information, must be submitted early enough to reach the appropriate research coordinator at least six months before the date the Fulbrighter intends to start their project.
Fulbright Program Management Contact
Fulbright Commission/U.S. Embassy Website
Fulbright Commission/U.S. Embassy Contact
Public Diplomacy Officer: DennyEW@state.gov
Program Contact: fbstudent.fogarty@iie.org