2023 was a very exciting milestone year for EDCTP. In Paris in November 2023, we not only celebrated the 20th anniversary of EDCTP but also had the largest EDCTP Forum to date, where representatives from many EDCTPfunded projects presented findings from their studies.
Dr Henning Gädeke
Chair, EDCTP Association Board
While EDCTP programmes have had outstanding success in the last twenty years, I have the firm belief that the best years are yet to come.
I am very happy that the EDCTP Association and the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking are working together to further expand and strengthen this partnership. The EDCTP2 programme has created a springboard that is providing its successor, the Global Health EDCTP3 programme, with a running start. The new programme has broadly the same objectives as EDCTP2, but with a wider scope, which includes global public health priorities such as the health impacts of climate change and antimicrobial resistance, and a new legal basis that will facilitate partnerships with a wider range of global actors.
I take this opportunity to thank Dr Michael Makanga for his dedicated and inspirational leadership of the EDCTP Association Secretariat during his seven years as Executive Director. With Michael now at the helm of Global Health EDCTP3, we can be sure that the new programme is in safe hands. I must also thank the management and staff of the EDCTP Association whose daily efforts have been essential to the successes achieved.
Everyone will agree that EDCTP is a true partnership of equals at all levels between European and African partners; it provides a model for how Europe and Africa can effectively collaborate in other areas through equitable partnerships. Moreover, it has brought together the brightest minds from the two continents to jointly work on critical public health challenges in partnership with other funders, product developers and industry. The value of these partnerships is priceless, creating lasting connections and relationships that will underpin research in the next decade and beyond. It is gratifying to see that the impact of EDCTP has been widely recognised in sub-Saharan Africa, with seven new African countries joining the EDCTP Association in 2023, bringing the total number of participating states to 28 from sub-Saharan Africa and 15 from Europe. Notably, African members of the EDCTP Association include English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking countries.
2023 was a very exciting milestone year for EDCTP. In Paris in November 2023, we not only celebrated the 20th anniversary of EDCTP but also had the largest EDCTP Forum to date, where representatives from many EDCTPfunded projects presented findings from their studies. As a delegate, I appreciated the opportunity to hear first-hand some of the highly impactful results presented by EDCTP grant-holders. For me, this is testament to the fact that EDCTP funding and approaches have contributed immensely not only to the fight against poverty-related diseases but also the development of research networks and capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.
scroll down
scroll down
Interview Marcel Tanner
Everyone will agree that EDCTP is a true partnership of equals at all levels between European and African partners; it provides a model for how Europe and Africa can effectively collaborate in other areas through equitable partnerships. Moreover, it has brought together the brightest minds from the two continents to jointly work on critical public health challenges in partnership with other funders, product developers and industry. The value of these partnerships is priceless, creating lasting connections and relationships that will underpin research in the next decade and beyond. It is gratifying to see that the impact of EDCTP has been widely recognised in sub-Saharan Africa, with seven new African countries joining the EDCTP Association in 2023, bringing the total number of participating states to 28 from sub-Saharan Africa and 15 from Europe. Notably, African members of the EDCTP Association include English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking countries.
2023 was a very exciting milestone year for EDCTP. In Paris in November 2023, we not only celebrated the 20th anniversary of EDCTP but also had the largest EDCTP Forum to date, where representatives from many EDCTPfunded projects presented findings from their studies. As a delegate, I appreciated the opportunity to hear first-hand some of the highly impactful results presented by EDCTP grant-holders. For me, this is testament to the fact that EDCTP funding and approaches have contributed immensely not only to the fight against poverty-related diseases but also the development of research networks and capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.
Discussions around vaccines have been given a great push during the Covid-19 pandemic, and analyses reveal that the investment in R&D facilities is very high. There has been a lot of attention on patents, but we have to realise that if you open/break a patent, it will only be of use if you have the capacity to produce such a vaccine. It takes years to develop that capacity. New approaches such as the BioNTech’s container labs that can be put together quickly for an R&D process in African countries, make a lot of sense but are not the only answer. In the long term, as stated before, it is essential to develop the PDP-framework at national and regional levels. In addition, I think EDCTP can play a role in that next step, and focus not only on clinical trials, but already do a lot of preparatory work in vaccine acceptance through the regional Networks of Excellence and our sound connections to the scientific community.
In your view, how has the Covid-19 pandemic informed the way organisations such as EDCTP collaborate with industry partners - what can be done differently?
While EDCTP programmes have had outstanding success in the last twenty years, I have the firm belief that the best years are yet to come.
How do you think we can build on the industry-supported activities that have been conducted to date and what new opportunities do you anticipate will emerge that can be jointly initiated under Global Health EDCTP3?
I am very happy that the EDCTP Association and the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking are working together to further expand and strengthen this partnership. The EDCTP2 programme has created a springboard that is providing its successor, the Global Health EDCTP3 programme, with a running start. The new programme has broadly the same objectives as EDCTP2, but with a wider scope, which includes global public health priorities such as the health impacts of climate change and antimicrobial resistance, and a new legal basis that will facilitate partnerships with a wider range of global actors.
I take this opportunity to thank Dr Michael Makanga for his dedicated and inspirational leadership of the EDCTP Association Secretariat during his seven years as Executive Director. With Michael now at the helm of Global Health EDCTP3, we can be sure that the new programme is in safe hands. I must also thank the management and staff of the EDCTP Association whose daily efforts have been essential to the successes achieved.
How would you describe EDCTP’s strategy on industry involvement in global health product development? In what way has EDCTP worked to facilitate collaboration with industry?