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EKFS will provide €2 million over five years to help establish systems for the lasting improvement of healthcare for children
Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe, 22.04.2026 – The Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) will support the establishment of the Else Kröner Center (EKC) for Global Child Health in Blantyre, Malawi, with a total of €2 million in funding over five years. The center is being set up in collaboration with the Friede Springer Endowed Professorship for Global Child Health at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) under the umbrella of the Pediatric and Child Health Association (PACHA). The aim is not only to improve healthcare for children in Malawi through individual projects, but also to create reliable systems that better link healthcare provision, training, and research.
From occasional interventions to lasting structures
Malawi is a young country: roughly half of the population is under the age of 18. At the same time, the healthcare system lacks structure, coordination, and reliability in many places. This has an adverse effect on the provision of healthcare for children. It is precisely here that the new Else Kröner Center for Global Child Health comes in: The aim is to improve the coordination of existing pediatric health initiatives, define priorities, and boost the quality of care in the long term.
While countless child health initiatives already exist in Malawi, they often operate separately, only run for a short time, and lack adequate coordination. The new center will reinforce PACHA’s framework by pooling measures and enabling more aligned, strategic development. A lasting system for child health is to be created in collaboration with Malawi’s Ministry of Health and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS).
Dr. Jochen Bitzer, who is responsible for humanitarian funding at the EKFS, says: “The EKC for Global Child Health will bring the right partners together and strengthen local expertise, helping to create the basis for healthcare that reaches children in the long term.”
Developed in partnership, rooted locally
“The center is intended as a coordination hub, think tank, and training platform,” says Prof. Dr. Ralf Weigel, who holds the Friede Springer Endowed Professorship for Global Child Health. Witten/Herdecke University will contribute its academic and structural expertise, develop training and professional development programs together with local partners, accompany research projects, and support the establishment of long-term organizational structures. The partners in Malawi will share their practical experience from healthcare delivery under real-life conditions with limited resources and a high workload.
Witten/Herdecke University will also assume a central role in the project management. It will help to ensure the targeted use of funding and the implementation of activities according to a clearly defined work plan.
Bringing education, research, and healthcare together
In the coming months, personnel will be hired for the center, and the first programs will be rolled out. The focus will be on education, research, and concrete improvements in healthcare provision. The long-term goal is to establish autonomous structures that attract additional funding and become central players in child healthcare in Malawi.
Through its support of the EKC for Global Child Health, EKFS emphasizes its broader mission to not only back individual humanitarian projects, but also establish structures that drive lasting improvements in healthcare.
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) – Advancing research. Helping people.
The Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung is a nonprofit foundation that promotes medical research and supports humanitarian projects. To date the foundation has funded around 2,800 projects. With an annual funding volume currently of approximately 60 million euros, it is the largest foundation in Germany supporting medical advancement. For more information, see https://ekfs.de/en
Press contact:
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung
Bianka Jerke
Public Relations
Tel.: + 49 6172 8975-24
Email: b.jerke@ekfs.de
Dr. Jochen Bitzer
Medical Development Cooperation
j.bitzer@ekfs.de
+49 (0)6172 8975-26
https://ekfs.de/en/current-topics/press/else-kroner-fresenius-stiftung-strengthe...
The UW/H-PACHA project team at the Else Kröner Center for Global Child Health in Malawi: Tony Roka, ...
Quelle: Ralf Weigel
Copyright: Ralf Weigel
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The UW/H-PACHA project team at the Else Kröner Center for Global Child Health in Malawi: Tony Roka, ...
Quelle: Ralf Weigel
Copyright: Ralf Weigel
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