Gordon Memorial College Trust Fund Grant Awards to South Sudanese Applicants 2025-2026
The Gordon Memorial College Trust Fund (GMCTF) is a UK registered charity (no. 314141). It is administered by a group of Trustees and an Executive Committee. The primary objective of the charity is to promote educational development in South Sudan and Sudan.
Once a year, GMCTF awards a small number of grants to individuals that are undertaking postgraduate study that will ultimately benefit life in Sudan/South Sudan.
At the last annual meeting GMCTF in London on 11th April 2025, the following grants were awarded by the Executive Committee on a competitive basis to South Sudanese postgraduate students via two funding programmes:
1. Individuals Programme (Women) – 19 funding requests were received from South Sudanese women seeking grants towards the cost of studies that would enable the individuals to contribute to the skills base of their country on their return. 16 applicants were awarded grants totalling USD $52,150 (averaging $3,259 per individual) to fund various study courses (predominantly Masters Degrees and specialty certificates) in the following fields:
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology x 5
- Internal medicine x 1
- Paediatrics x 4
- Psychiatry x 1
- General surgery x 3
- Dermatology and Venereology x 1
- Ophthalmology x 1
15 (94%) grant recipients are undertaking their studies in Ethiopia at various institutions including St Paul’s Millennium College, Bahir Dar University College, Yakatit 12 Hospital Medical College, University of Gondar, Jimma University and Addis Ababa University. One grant recipient is studying at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
A further 5 grants were awarded to Sudanese applicants.
2. Continuation Funding – Six South Sudanese medics (5 male, 1 female) who had previously received grants from GMCTF requested further funding to complete their studies. The Executive Committee agreed continuation funding to all 6 requests with awards totalling USD $17,195 (average $2,866 per individual).
Five of the grantees are currently studying in Ethiopia (at Wolaita Sodo, Gondar, Jimma and Bahirdar University hospitals) and one in Uganda (Mbarara University).
Four are studying in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, one in General Surgery and one in Ophthalmology.
The 2025 programme has now closed. New funding opportunities are typically announced on the charity’s website (www.gmctf.org) at the beginning of December and applicants are invited to submit requests up to the end of February of the following year. Applications can ONLY be made via the website in the timeframe specified and MUST be accompanied by two references. Eligibility criteria and full application details will be published when further funding opportunities are announced.
Dr Eluzai Abe Hakim, FRCP Edin, FRCP
Member Executive Committee of GMCTF,
Associate Editor of South Sudan Medical Journal and International Adviser to the Royal College of Physicians London on South Sudan.
www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com
