15 Fully Funded PhDs in Anthropology through a Doctoral Network between Africa and Europe
Good news! as the University of Nairobi through the Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies hosted the launch and kick-off project event of HEALENAE on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
HEALANAE; Health and Environment in Africa and Europe is a consortium of 7 universities in Africa and Europe including; University of Nairobi (Kenya), Aarhus University (Denmark), University of Cape Town (South Africa), University of Edinburgh (UK), KU Leuven (Belgium), Makerere University (Uganda), and Oslo University (Norway).
The HEALENAE Doctoral Network offers a cross-continental, innovative, interdisciplinary, and multi-sectoral anthropological approach to pressing, interrelated health and environmental challenges across contemporary Africa and Europe. HEALENAE will develop a strong interdisciplinary network that is based in anthropology, global one health, environmental and regional studies, to document and analyse connections, correspondences and new challenges for health and environmental contexts in and between Africa and Europe.
15 positions are fully funded for 3 years. You are welcome to apply for more than one project, but note that you have to apply directly to the universities where the projects are located. Please carefully read the application procedures for each recruiting university. See the relevant application link under the project.
Project 1: Metabolic impact: agricultural intensification and health transformations
Project 2: Climate change migration and care for the elderly.
Project 3: Toxic layering in a precarious world: environmental harms and well-being.
Project 4: Livestock and natural resource management: biodiversity and zoonotic diseases.
Project 5: Epidemics, disease and state formation in Africa.
Project 6: Climate crisis, youth migration, adaption and associated health outcomes.
Project 7: Toxicity: urban living in landscapes of extraction.
Project 8: Gendered cancer epidemics and questions about environments
Project 9: Infrastructures of toxic evidence and civic protection
Project 10: Biosecurity: food, health risks and animal disease.
Project 11: Non-Communicable Diseases, environments and questions of repair.
Project 12: Urban commons: environments, infrastructures, and health.
Project 13: Youth mental health and gambling epidemics in times of environmental crisis.
Project 14: Epidemics and natural disasters as ‘business’.
Project 15: The Frontiers of Vector Borne Disease: Expertise and Response in Africa and Europe.
Speaking during the event launch, the Vice Chancellor applauded the move and underscored how these opportunities catalyse and align with the University’s mission of transforming society and increase internationalization. She also highlighted how UoN students get various opportunities to become global citizens should they optimize on the available opportunities while undergoing their studies. The Vice-Chancellor was represented by Prof. Jack Odhiambo, the Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
The Director, Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, Prof. Onyango Ouma, in his welcome remarks, welcomed all the other Principal Investigators and co-supervisors from all the other 6 institutions. He acknowledged the hours of work that have gone into making the HEALENAE, a reality. He called on the Students and staff interested to apply for the opportunities available.
Interested candidates, apply through the application portal of the host University of the topic you are interested in. See more information on this website- healenae.eu
