Evidence for AI in Health (EVAH) RFP

Overview

The Evidence for AI in Health (EVAH) initiative is supported by the Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, and Novo Nordisk Foundation, and delivered in partnership with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC).

EVAH’s first request for proposals (RFP) is now open, supporting locally-led evaluations of AI-enabled decision support tools that are ready for real-world use and designed to assist frontline workers with clinical tasks—such as triage, diagnosis, or referral—within primary and community health care settings in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Application timeline

The Evidence for AI in Health (EVAH) initiative is currently accepting proposals for its Spring RFP. Below are the key dates:

• RFP opens: February 20, 2026
• Proposals due: April 1, 2026
• Anticipated notification date: June 2026
  • Note: This is when we estimate that applicants will first be notified whether their proposal is advancing with a funder (either Wellcome Trust, Gates Foundation, or Novo Nordisk Foundation) for further due diligence. Final funding decisions and associated timeline to award remain subject to each funder’s internal due diligence processes.

Funding pathways

Researchers may apply for one of the following funding pathways:

• Pathway A: supports real-world evaluation of AI-enabled CDSTs that are early in deployment. The pathway focuses on how the tools perform in practice, including usability, workflow integration, adoption, and safety, and supports research that can inform future impact evaluations. (Up to USD $1,000,000)
• Pathway B: supports rigorous impact evaluations of AI-enabled CDSTs that are ready to be deployed at scale. This pathway focuses on measuring the effects of these tools on health outcomes and system performance at scale. (Up to USD $3,000,000)

Who should apply

This call is intended for organizations or consortia that have access to an AI-enabled CDST already deployed or ready for deployment in primary health care settings, and the capacity to conduct—or partner with institutions that can conduct—rigorous evaluations. Applicants may include nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, international organizations, government agencies, academic institutions, or collaborations among these actors.

Proposals should be led by institutions based in the regions of focus and designed to generate decision-relevant evidence for Ministries of Health, implementers, and funders on how AI-enabled CDSTs can be responsibly integrated into primary health care systems and, where appropriate, inform future scale-up decisions.

Please refer to the RFP overview for additional details on eligibility and priorities.

Application Instructions

For EVAH RFPs, please follow the directions listed below: 

1. When you are ready to apply, please refer to these instructions to create your team’s profile on Wizehive, our application portal. Please note that we are adapting WizeHive’s “Organization Profile” feature to serve as a “Proposal Team Profile.” As such, each team profile corresponds to a single proposal. Teams will now be able to collaborate on their proposal in WizeHive.
   1. EVAH Application Link
2. Submit your proposal by April 1, 2026 at 10:00am Eastern Daylight Time (4:00pm Central Africa Time; 7:30pm Indian Standard Time). Please see the application guidelines at the bottom of this page for a preview of application questions and required materials. The application guidelines include a checklist of required materials and guidance on what to address within each narrative prompt of the application. We recommend reading the Application Guidelines document in detail before answering the proposal questions in WizeHive.

Questions on RFP priorities, application and review processes, eligibility, and general inquiries must be submitted to [email protected] by March 6, and responses will be published on this page as a public FAQ on March 13. Technical support for WizeHive, the application platform, will be provided throughout the RFP process. Please see the RFP Overview below for more information. 

Below, please find (1) an RFP Overview; (2) Application Guidelines, which includes a preview of the application questions you will complete on the WizeHive portal; and (3) budget template. Please use the budget template to structure your proposal budget. All application materials should be completed in or uploaded to our online portal, WizeHive—we can only consider applications submitted there.