The year also saw the launch of the GloPID-R Africa Hub, hosted by the South African Medical Research Council and co-funded by EDCTP with financial support from the UK. The GloPID-R network brings together funders with an interest in research related to new or re-emerging infectious disease threats. The GloPID-R Africa Hub aims to connect funders and other stakeholders active in the African region, to improve coordination and maximise impacts.

In September 2023, EDCTP organised a side event at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit (SSUNGA78), focusing on the development of innovative digital health solutions for Africa³. The event included brief summaries of multiple EDCTP projects leveraging digital tools in health research and building capacity for their application, followed by a panel discussion including representatives from Africa CDC, the European Commission, and the industry and biotech sectors.

The event also featured the launch of a partnership between EDCTP, the Novartis pharmaceutical company and digital science company TriNetX, which is introducing TriNetX’s innovative data science platform into clinical sites within EDCTP’s Regional Networks of Excellence⁴. Use of the platform will greatly enhance the capacity of these sites to participate in industry-sponsored trials and improve access of African populations to innovative medical interventions in development.

The year also saw the launch of the GloPID-R Africa Hub, hosted by the South African Medical Research Council and co-funded by EDCTP with financial support from the UK. The GloPID-R network brings together funders with an interest in research related to new or re-emerging infectious disease threats. The GloPID-R Africa Hub aims to connect funders and other stakeholders active in the African region, to improve coordination and maximise impacts.

Highlights from 2023 included a serious of events focusing on the African Clinical Trials Ecosystem. World Health Assembly resolution WHA75.8, passed in 2022, calls for a strengthening of clinical trial capacity in the Global South, to facilitate the rapid initiation of high-quality trials in the event of a health emergency and to address inequities in access to new medical interventions.

In May 2023, a stakeholder workshop took place in Cape Town, South Africa, organised by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the African Union Development Agency/New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and EDCTP. The workshop was attended by 60 national, regional and global stakeholders, from research institutes, regional organisations, WHO, industry, the private sector, community organisations and funders. A second African consultation meeting was organised by WHO and its Regional Office in Africa in Zambia in October 2023.

Africa CDC is taking the leading role in developing the vision of an African clinical trials ecosystem and an associated roadmap. Progress during the year was reviewed at an African Clinical Trials Ecosystem Funders meeting, which formed part of the EDCTP Forum in Paris in November 2023. This included representatives from more than 25 funders and other stakeholder organisations.

Furthermore, with financial support from the UK, EDCTP provided funding to WHO in 2023 to support implementation of WHA75.8 to improve the quality of evidence from clinical trials. This grant will develop a global baseline mapping document of clinical trials and global normative implementation guidance to focus clinical trials on key design features that will increase the quality of evidence for decision-making and support clinical trial ecosystem capacity development. Part of the activities included the organisation of a workshop at the EDCTP Forum in Paris in November 2023.

EDCTP is committed to working collaboratively and in partnership with like-minded organisations. It has developed strong relationships with key regional stakeholders and works closely with other bodies funding clinical research in sub-Saharan Africa to maximise the impact achieved.