We support hospital partners in order to improve health care services on a sustainable basis

There are regular meetings with the project participants for sharing information and networking. In our calendar of events you can see when the next meeting is scheduled. All the partners invited to the events will receive information in advance by e-mail.

As a member of the global ESTHER Alliance we are happy to support you in networking with partner institutions in ways that go beyond the initiative. You will find an overview of the partnership projects of ESTHER members here. You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions.

Insurance for project staff moving to other countries is the responsibility of the funding recipient and should be discussed with the German project manager responsible.

Older vouchers can be submitted at the end of the project along with the final accounts. However, the costs must have been incurred during the term of the agreement.

German applicants are not allowed to pass funding on to other organisations. The German partner is the contracting partner and as such is responsible for handling the project's finances.

Flights can be booked before the agreement comes into force, but the costs can be reimbursed only if the journey takes place within the term of the agreement (date on voucher).

Once the agreement has been signed, the recipient has to submit a schedule of funding requirements showing how the approved budget is allocated to each budget line and month, for the entire period. This schedule can be used as a basis for requesting advance payments, for which accounts must be submitted after four months at the latest, including vouchers and evidence of how the funding has been used.

It can take up to eight months from the submission of your application to the conclusion of an agreement. It therefore makes sense to wait until the agreement and the final data are available before beginning any detailed planning and implementation. Please note that it is not possible to cover any costs incurred prior to the start of the project as defined in the agreement.

Information about the progress of applications after they have been submitted is available here. This process may take a long time. We therefore ask you not to contact us with questions about your application. All the projects will be notified simultaneously and in writing by e-mail. We are not able to answer telephone enquiries.

We support your voluntary work. Funding cannot be awarded to cover personnel costs. To a very limited extent, fees (not salaries) paid to third parties for preparing and holding training seminars may be included in the accounts under 'Training costs'. In such cases, the German partner must sign a contract with the third-party institution. GIZ will then able to reimburse payments for such services, after the invoice has been paid by the German partner. GIZ does not make direct payments to third parties.

No, the financial plan refers only to the funding for which you are applying. Information about your own financing may be provided in the project application in the section entitled 'Your inputs'.

Your application must be submitted via our online application portal. All the documents you need for your application are available in the application portal. Be sure to keep to the formats provided. You will find detailed instructions on how to apply here. Please note that the documents required may change from one round to the next, so please be sure to use the latest versions available from the application portal.

If the project partner is active at several locations within one country, several sites can be included in the project. Here it is important that the various sites are all linked to the same project. Your application should mention the inclusion of several sites and specify what activities are to be carried out at each one.

Yes, several projects may be funded simultaneously within one long-term partnership between two or more organisations. However, the projects must be clearly separated, i.e. their objectives and the measures to be applied must not overlap. The German partner should be sure to indicate this in the application so as to avoid duplication.

At present the funding programme is not restricted to a specific topic. However, future rounds of funding may have a thematic focus. You can always find the requirements for the next round of applications on our website.

Invitations to apply to the funding programme Health Partnerships – Global are issued twice a year. Subscribe to our newsletter in order to receive information about the start of the next round of applications. Information about the current round of applications can also be found on our website.

Partnership projects may be awarded up to EUR 50,000 for a maximum period of two years.

We support your voluntary work. You can apply to our programme for funding for project trips, training costs, materials and equipment, and administrative costs. Personnel costs, basic construction measures and research projects are not eligible for funding. A detailed overview of the costs that may be covered by our funding programme is available here.

Our funding programme requires that you already have a partner for your joint project. You are welcome to contact us directly and we will advise you on possible partnerships. Our programme also funds new partnerships.

Healthcare institutions serving the public in countries that count as low and middle-income countries according to OECD DAC criteria. This includes university hospitals, other hospitals, medical training institutions, health centres and non-governmental organisations that provide public health services.

The programme aims to foster sustainable partnerships for the long term that help strengthen health systems. The partnerships encourage the exchange of knowledge in order to improve health services in the partner organisations in low and middle-income countries.

The Health Partnerships – Global programme accepts applications from German public-sector health facilities, such as university hospitals, other hospitals and public-benefit organisations in the health sector, such as associations, and their partners. The German partner is the official applicant and, if the application is successful, also the contracting partner for the funding.

Yes, several projects may be funded simultaneously within one long-term partnership between two or more organisations. However, the projects must be clearly separated, i.e. their objectives and the measures to be applied must not overlap. Please be sure to indicate in your application any other sources of funding so that duplication can be avoided.

Besides the Hospital Partnerships Initiative’s two funding programmes, Health Partnerships – Global and University and Hospital Partnerships in Africa, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) also finances the PAGEL programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which provides funding for health partnerships around the world. You can find information about the PAGEL programme here. Altogether, the three programmes cover a broad range of potential partners, topics and regions.

The initiative currently offers two funding programmes: University and Hospital Partnerships in Africa and Health Partnerships – Global. Health Partnerships – Global funds new and existing partnerships anywhere in the world between organisations on a variety of health-related topics. University and Hospital Partnerships in Africa supports established partnerships with clinics and hospitals in Africa, with a regularly changing topical focus.

No, because the Hospital Partnerships initiative is intended to support long-term partnerships between German health-sector organisations and partners in low and middle-income countries. If you are interested in a university partnership, a training seminar, a clinical traineeship or a practical year, you may find a source of funding through the Partnerships for the Health Sector in Developing Countries (PAGEL) programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Information about the programme is available here.

The funding programme University and Hospital Partnerships in Africa promotes health partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa, while the Health Partnerships – Global programme operates worldwide in low and middle-income countries, according to the OECD DAC criteria. You will find a list of our partnership projects here.

For the programme University and Hospital Partnerships in Africa, application is open to German public-sector health facilities, federal institutions and research institutes. In the case of Health Partnerships – Global, German public-sector health facilities and public-benefit organisations active in the area of health (e.g. associations) can apply.

The initiative currently offers two funding programmes entitled University and Hospital Partnerships in Africa and Health Partnerships – Global. Our website provides information about the requirements and options of the two funding programmes.

Through its funding programmes, the initiative assists new and established partnership projects with networking, expert exchanges, capacity building and quality assurance. By training specialists, conducting applied research and strengthening the health care infrastructure, we are helping to optimise health care provision in our partner countries. Our partnerships are an effective way of enabling knowledge transfer between health professionals and promoting health facilities in the long term. The hospital partnerships use peer-to-peer learning approaches and work with their partners on an equal footing. In this way, goals and approaches are developed jointly, decisions are taken together, and open communication channels are established. We value transparency, sustainability and efforts to promote gender equality and people with disabilities.

The initiative is funded and supported by BMZ and the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation. It receives technical support from the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is responsible for implementing the initiative.

Please report this change to the hospital partnerships secretariat immediately by email. Please indicate the new project period and explain the reasons for this change.

Extension of the project period. The project period can only be extended in certain cases, depending on the project period already applied for. Should it prove possible to extend the project, this will entail an amendment of the agreement and is only possible before the originally agreed period has elapsed.

Shortening of the project period. A shortening of the project period as such does not have any contractual consequences. Please submit your final report and final invoice soon after completion of the activities.

Please report this change to the hospital partnerships secretariat immediately by email. Please describe and explain the reasons for the planned changes, and if appropriate attach a modified project proposal.

Please report this change to the hospital partnerships secretariat immediately by email. Please describe and explain the reasons for the planned changes in the financial plan, and attach the new one and a correspondingly revised funding needs plan. You will only need to apply for an amendment to the original financial plan if shifts within the budget lines deviate from the original planned amount by more than 20% for any given cost item. It is not possible to exceed the contractually agreed funding amount. If a smaller amount is called up than was planned, this should be mentioned in the final report under additional information.

Please report this change to the hospital partnerships secretariat immediately by email. If one of the partner organisations changes, the agreement cannot be continued. The secretariat will advise you on how to proceed.

Please report this change to the hospital partnerships secretariat immediately by email. Please describe and explain the reasons for the planned changes, and if appropriate attach the modified project plan. Please also include the changes in your next status report Changes to the activities and objectives can entail amendments to the agreement, which means the secretariat will need to determine how best to proceed.

Please report this change to the hospital partnerships secretariat immediately by email. Please include the name, contact details and short profile of the new project manager or other individual involved. N.B.: Please note that the new project manager should possess similar qualifications to his or her predecessor.