The Multilink Consortium
The Multilink Consortium is a UK National Institute for Health & Care Research, (NIHR) which is a funded programme administered through Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, (LSTM), along with with five partner organisations.
The clinical trial is being conducted in both Malawi and Tanzania and seeks to design and test a system which identifies patients suffering from multiple chronic diseases, (Multimorbidity), when they seek emergency care in sub-Saharan African hospitals.
The overall aim is to improve early disease treatment, ensuring better follow up to prevent complications, disability and hospital readmission. Thus, improving health related quality of life and survival rates.
The research is funded until August 2025 by the National Institute for Health & Care, (NIHR).
Multimorbidity is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa due to high burdens of infectious disease, such as HIV and rising rates of non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes.
The prevalence of Multimorbidity increases as people live longer and can be worsened by HIV and the drugs required to treat it.
Patients frequently delay seeking help until they are severely ill, affecting the poorest people most. This means that emergency departments are key to healthcare delivery and may be targeted to identify sufferers and link them to the most appropriate primary care services for ongoing treatment.
The team will define how Multimorbidity differs from high income countries so that the intervention is locally relevant. The team will then run a clinical trial across both countries.
The leadership team includes, Charity Salima, who are a community group leader, ensuring that patients’ voices are driving the research agenda.
News Articles & Events
Breathlessness Increases Long-Term Mortality Risk
Thorax Web Link - Please Click Here People in Malawi admitted to hospital with breathlessness are much more likely to die within a year than other patients, a new study has found. Research led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome...
Multilink Consortium have been published by The Lancet Global Health on the 25th June 2025
The Lancet Global HealthWeb Link - Please Click Here New study shows almost half of hospital patients in Malawi and Tanzania have multiple health conditions A new study conducted in Malawi and Tanzania has found that almost half of patients admitted to hospital had...
Hidden in Plain Sight: Africa’s Multimorbidity Crisis. A PLOS Global Public Health Collection
We are delighted to announce a new Collection in PLOS Global Public Health, entitled “Hidden in Plain Sight: Africa’s Multimorbidity Crisis”.Image credit: Ardent Creative, for the Wellcome Trust funded Art of Ageing Competition, The Health Research Unit Zimbabwe,...
LSTM News & Events
Contact Information
Multilink Project
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Pembroke Place
Liverpool
Merseyside
L3 5QA
UK
