Royal Society awards £3.3 million funding for Africa

A new funding initiative has been announced between scientists in Ghana, Tanzania and the UK.

The £3.3 million partnership between the Leverhulme Trust and the Royal Society will provide 18 research projects with up to £150,000 over three years.

Researchers in Tanzania and Ghana have reportedly met with the Royal Society to identify areas of significance for projects to specialise in.

The funding will be awarded through the new Leverhulme Royal Society Africa initiative and is expected to be officially launched in October.

Once the scheme is established, the Royal Society hopes to extend it across Africa.

Professor Lorna Casselton, foreign secretary for the Royal Society, said: "This generous funding from the Leverhulme Trust will allow larger collaborative research grants for African and British research teams to work together on pressing challenges."

The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1930 following the death of Victorian businessman William Hesketh Lever.