The KCGH Thesis/PhD Prize will return in 2025!
In 2025, the Global Health Knowledge Centre (KCGH) is once again highlighting young researchers with the annual Thesis/PhD Prize. This initiative validates our mission to encourage innovative research within global health. Through this prize, we encourage pioneers who are changing global health with their fresh ideas.
The importance of our award: At KCGH, we recognise that breakthroughs in global health begin with bold and groundbreaking research. Through these awards, we help build a foundation for innovations that are essential for health around the world. We support researchers whose work provides practical solutions and advances healthcare on both local and global scales.
Join the 2025 competition: Have you written a thesis or dissertation on global health? Did you graduate in the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Saba or Sint Eustatius? Send your work to info@kcgh.nl before 1 October 2025. Our jury, including an expert from the Global Child Health Expert Group, will assess the submissions for innovation, relevance and impact.
Key moments in 2025
- Deadline for entries: 1 October 2025
- Assessment period: October and November 2025
- Award ceremony: The winners will be honoured at the KCGH Symposium on 27 November 2025.
About KCGH: KCGH promotes the exchange of knowledge and connects professionals within healthcare and global health. The centre is an initiative of the NVTG and OIGT, supported by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.
For more details or participation, visit our website www.kcgh.nl or contact us at info@kcgh.nl.
What prizes do we award?
To celebrate and promote the exceptional work of young scholars, KCGH awards prizes to:
€500 to two recently graduated bachelor or master students who have written an innovative and impactful thesis on a global health topic has written.
€500 To a recent graduate HBO student who has written an impactful thesis on a global health topic.
€1000 to a recent doctoral candidate who has contributed significantly to new insights into global health spend on further professional development, such as continuing the work in their thesis, attending training courses, consulting experts or supporting activities to obtain project funding
€500 for the best HBO/WO master's or bachelor's thesis focusing on a topic within Global Child Health in cooperation with the Global Child Health expertise group
Edition 2024
In 2024, we received no less than 36 entries of exceptionally high quality, showcasing the diverse and impactful research in the field of global health. After a thorough assessment by our expert jury, we are proud to present the winners of the KCGH Thesis/Promotion Prize 2024:
Winner Bachelor Thesis: Lara Schmale-Hüsemann
Title: Health Equity Analysis of the Africa CDC Strategy on Non-Communicable Diseases
Lara's research offers a critical look at how health equity has been integrated into the Africa CDC's non-communicable disease strategy. Her analysis shows that while health equity is a core principle, it is not consistently reflected in the strategy's approach. Using principles such as critical reflexivity, modesty and capacity to act, she highlights how power dynamics affect access to care and policy outcomes. Her research offers essential insights for global health governance.
Winner Master Thesis: Robert Dasović
Title: Unheard Voices: Navigating the lives of homeless people in a fragmented care landscape
Robert's research sheds light on the lived experiences of homeless people in Rotterdam. Using Life History Interviewing and Life Mapping, he explores how trauma, exclusion and systematic neglect contribute to homelessness. His work highlights the need for trauma-focused, person-centred care and challenges care systems to recognise and respond to the voices and experiences of marginalised groups.
Winner PhD Dissertation (Category: Global Child Health): Tom Jacobs
Title: Accelerating access to optimal anti-infective treatment for children living with HIV
Tom's PhD thesis focuses on the challenge of ensuring accessible, child-friendly HIV treatments for children in low-income countries. Working with teams from Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, he explores how barriers to optimal anti-infective treatments can be broken down. By highlighting the role of clinical pharmacology as a driving force for improved access, his work offers practical solutions to one of the most pressing challenges in global child health.
Awarded in collaboration with the Global Child Health Expert Group
Winner PhD dissertation: Lennart Maljaars
Title: Surgical Care and Innovation for Vesicovaginal Fistula
Lennart's research focuses on the treatment of vesicovaginal fistula, a stigmatised condition affecting women in vulnerable contexts. His thesis focuses on improving conventional surgical methods and developing innovative approaches to strengthen treatment options. By highlighting the importance of both technical advances and social awareness, his work strives to improve care and reduce the stigma faced by affected women.
Special thanks
A big thank you to our judges for their dedication, expertise and careful judging in selecting this year's winners:
- Jaco J. Verweij
- Koos van der Velden
- Lekha Rathod
- Perijne Vellekoop
These winners represent the future of research in global health. Each contributes to crucial themes, such as health equity, vulnerable populations and access to life-saving treatments. We thank all 36 participants for their valuable submissions and look forward to seeing how their work continues to contribute to progress in global health.
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