We support humanitarian response initiatives that address the needs of people in vulnerable situations affected by humanitarian crisis

Humanitarian needs may arise from several interrelated factors, including extreme poverty, climate change, conflict, disaster and displacement. The purpose of our humanitarian open calls is to support humanitarian actors and the humanitarian system in identifying, adapting or integrating research, learning, and innovative approaches to improve the quality of humanitarian response and deliver better outcomes for people affected by crisis.

The humanitarian open calls are annual calls, and the specific thematic focus may vary from year to year. The geographical focus for these calls is Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

In 2023, the Novo Nordisk Foundation awarded grants totalling DKK 46.2 million for ten projects that will inform humanitarian response through research, learning and innovation in some of the most vulnerable parts of the world. The thematic focuses of the projects are food security and health with climate change resilience as a cross-cutting approach.