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Research objectives

A young Kenyan farmer named Mercy Wambui stands on the grass. She measures rainwater and records the data on her list.
Tana River watershed, Kenyan farmer Mercy Wambui measuring rainwater on her farm. © G. Smith CIAT

For the SDC, research and innovation are not an end in themselves, but a means to promote sustainable global development and eradicate poverty. ODA research funded by the SDC produces new findings and innovative approaches and facilitates their use in practice. Some of the SDC's research projects also enable the impact of international cooperation to be assessed. SDC-backed research therefore helps reduce poverty and global risks, promotes sustainable development around the world and supports low- and middle-income countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Research findings inform development policy decisions made by Switzerland and its partner countries and strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of the SDC's programmes.

Successes/results

Research projects undertaken as part of Switzerland's international cooperation work have developed innovative approaches and cutting-edge technology to address global challenges. The DYNAMIC project, for example, has developed a clinical decision support algorithm to improve the quality of healthcare for children (see box). 

DYNAMIC: clinical decision support tool improves the quality of diagnoses for children

Every year, more than 5 million children under the age of 5 die from preventable or treatable diseases. The DYNAMIC project has developed a clinical decision support algorithm to assist health workers in Tanzania and Rwanda in diagnosing sick children and thus improve the quality of healthcare. The digital tool has achieved an 88% reduction in the overprescription of drugs such as antibiotics. A clinical trial was conducted in Tanzania, under the r4d programme, to test the algorithm's safety and reliability (e-POCT project). The project, funded by the Fondation Botnar and the SDC, is being implemented by Unisanté (University of Lausanne Centre for Primary Care and Public Health), the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH) and various local partners. The objective is to improve the tool and carry out additional substantive testing in Tanzania and Rwanda.

Further information on results from SDC-funded research projects is available on the Knowledge for Development (k4d) portal.

Knowledge for Development

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Last update 06.04.2022