(REF CT22) EDCTP: an EU-Africa partnership advancing global health research and cooperation

EDCTP virtual side event at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA76)
EDCTP: an EU-Africa partnership advancing global health research and cooperation

22 September 2021 – 15:00-17:00 CEST

The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) is a public-public partnership between 16 African and 14 European countries that aims to accelerate the development of new or improved medical interventions for the identification, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, including emerging/re-emerging diseases. Launched in 2003 and renewed in 2014, EDCTP has been the focal point of European Union (EU) support for global health research in Africa, and a visible sign of commitment first to the Millennium Development Goals and then to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). EDCTP actively contributes to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its associated SDGs, most directly to SDG3 (‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) but also to SDG1 (‘End poverty in all its forms everywhere).

Clinical trials supported by the second EDCTP programme (EDCTP2; 2014-2024) involve international collaborations spanning across over 60 countries and 350 institutions in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, with broader global collaboration. By June 2021, the EDCTP2 portfolio comprised 416 grants awarded through 60 Calls for Proposals, representing a total investment of EUR 810 million. Results from EDCTP-funded clinical trials have generated pivotal evidence which will be translated into policy and implemented in practice by the appropriate partners, ensuring greater global health impact. Due to launch in the first quarter of 2022, the future EDCTP programme (Global Health EDCTP3) will retain its focus on poverty-related infectious diseases affecting sub-Saharan Africa, but it will have additional resources and a stronger commitment to collaborative and coordinated approaches to address them, working with global and regional partners to tackle existing and emerging infectious disease threats. It will also continue to strengthen the enabling environment for conducting clinical research capacity in the region. Building on the foundation laid by the two previous EDCTP programmes, the partnership will ensure that more people gain access to new medical interventions and help to protect and strengthen regional and global health security.

On the occasion of the 76th United Nations General Assembly, this side meeting will aim to advance the broader discussion on how to ensure sustained support and advancement along the continuum of product development for infectious diseases, including scale-up, implementation and access in sub-Saharan Africa and globally, in the pursuit of achieving the health-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The objectives of the session will be to:

· Showcase how EDCTP contributes to the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
· Secure global policy support for Global Health EDCTP3, to increase awareness and build engagement with prospective partners
· Develop input on the United Nations roadmap for digital cooperation, including alignment with the EU’s digital transformation agenda for the EU and Africa
· Address health research obstacles including data governance, particularly access to and use of data by developing countries
· Highlight the evolution of the programme into Global Health.

The session speaker will include:

• Marcel Tanner, EDCTP High Representative, Europe
• Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, Janssen, USA
• Leonardo Simão, EDCTP High Representative, Africa
• Michael Makanga, EDCTP Executive Director, the Netherlands
• Marleen Temmerman, Aga Khan University, Kenya
• Peter Kilmarx, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, USA
• Margareth Ndomondo-Sigonda, AUDA-NEPAD, South Africa

•   Clinical Trials