The “Ifakara Health Institute” (IHI), a research station founded by the Swiss Institute for Tropical Diseases, is a very important institution for Ifakara. Now it is in Tanzanian hands (Director Dr. Hassan Mshinda). Here, research is mainly done on Malaria and HIV. It cooperates very closely with St. Francis Hospital.
Kituo cha utafiti wa afya na maendeleo (tovuti www.ihi.or.tz) chenye kufanya utafiti juu ya magonjwa ya kitropiki na hasa malaria, cha Basel na kinachofanya kazi kwa kushirikiana na hospitali ya Mt. Fransisko ni cha muhimu sana kwa Ifakara.