Fifth EDCTP Forum – Blog

All you need to know… about the Fifth EDCTP Forum

Posted by Ilona van den Brink on 10 October 2009 at 15:25

By Ochieng’ Ogodo

From 12 to 14 October, policy makers, researchers, scientists and other stakeholders will be in Arusha, Tanzania locked in serious discourse on the state of clinical trials on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. During the Fifth European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) Forum they will discuss the latest developments, identify gaps and plan on the way forward.

“The Forum carries the theme One World, One Partnership, emphasising that the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria can only be won in a global effort” said Dr Michael Makanga, EDCTP Director of South-South cooperation and Head of Africa office. The Forum comes at a time when EDCTP is celebrating its sixth year of existence, The meeting, he said, will inform about the outcomes of projects supported by EDCTP in collaboration with other partners, and it will offer an opportunity to researchers to reflect on the progress of these projects.

According to Dr Makanga there will also be representatives of the African regional economic communities and their health arms: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), West African Health Organisation (WAHO), the East African Community (EAC), East, Central and Southern African Health Community (ECSA-HC), the Organisation of Coordination of the Fight against Endemics in Central Africa (OCEAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). “Part of their involvement,” he pointed out, “is to really reinforce African political commitment to support health and research as well as enhancement of regional cooperation.”

The EDCTP partnership covers 14 European Union Member States, Switzerland and Norway and all countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). EDCTP’s fifth edition of the Forum will increase awareness and foster support for research on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria from Africa, Europe and other partners. “We will exchange knowledge and promote collaboration on the three diseases with focus on clinical trials and related disciplines. We are going to use the Forum to get a common global research agenda fostering interaction between scientists not only from Africa and Europe, but also with partners from the rest of the world,” Dr Makanga clarified.

The three-day meeting, Dr Makanga said, is expected to achieve specific objectives. It will make people better informed about EDCTP’s achievements in Africa. The political leadership and the research community will get to know the need for increased awareness in Africa and to work together towards achieving this. It will also be used to get feedback on what EDCTP is doing right and what it ought to improve on. “We need to know what is working and what is not working.”

Dr Makanga said the programme will include an array of high-profile speakers from both the scientific and the political realm from south and north. The programme includes keynote addresses, plenary and parallel sessions, and roundtable discussions, as well as electronic and poster presentations on research projects on the three diseases in Africa.

Day one will see African and European leaders speak on the need for and commitment to clinical research to fight the three diseases, and will outline the current European and African partnership programmes and research agenda. It will also focus on regional research initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, including Networks of Excellence and ethics and regulatory structures.

On Tuesday 13 October, Dr Makanga said, will be science intense with speakers presenting an overview of recent advances in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria clinical trials during the plenary morning session. This session will be followed by parallel sessions on research capacity development in the three PRDs.

On Wednesday 14 October EDCTP Research Fellows will present their work in the morning while in the afternoon, research partners, funders and donors will present an overview of EDCTP Partnerships. The programme will end with a wrap-up of recommendations and future outlooks.

There will also be satellite meetings. These satellite meetings, Dr Makanga explained, will focus on the challenges of setting and implementing appropriate standards in externally funded projects, and on ownership of research outcomes in SSA and the need to support African researchers and institutions on data ownership, data management  and intellectual property.

There will be two award ceremonies. One will be for outstanding African scientists in the three diseases and is aimed at fostering research activities of the winners and to encourage others to also work hard and achieve such recognitions.
The second one sponsored by the hosts, Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Tanzania, will be awards to winners in an essay competition aimed at stimulating research culture among budding scientists including high school students.