Networks of Excellence to boost African clinical trials capacity
Posted by Ilona van den Brink on 10 October 2009 at 15:34
By Ochieng’ Ogodo
Africa has been dodged with the lack of both human and infrastructural capacity for conducting clinical trials on diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Whereas some African countries have been collaborating with European counterparts, EDCTP’s Networking and Capacity Development manager, Dr Thomas Nyirenda says as long as the continent’s systems remain weak as they are today, Africa will always lag behind in clinical trials. “We are facing an imbalance, which calls for capacity building involving existing institutions in West, East, Central and Southern Africa.”
According to Dr Nyirenda it is against this background that African partnerships supported by EDCTP are working on NoEs. These networks encourage institutions in the four African regions to join forces and make proposals for funding based on their strengths and weaknesses.
Dr Nyirenda outlined that the NoEs aim to break the isolation that researchers may be faced with by creating scientific platforms for sharing expertise and by establishing mentorship programmes on a south-south basis. This, he clarified, will enable institutions to promote and coordinate their intra-regional collaborations. According to Dr Nyirenda this will build regional networks that are competitive and able to attract funds from multiple funding sources, which will greatly enhance sustainability of their activities.
Other areas of capacity building are mapping and synergising activities on a regional level, as well as increasing advocacy to popularise clinical trials among the various stakeholders including political establishments. “Under the EDCTP funded regional Networks of Excellence some institutions scale up their equipment while others build laboratories or conduct training in various areas such as Good Clinical Practice. There are also exchange programmes enabling researchers to train in other countries facilitating knowledge and skills transfer. The EDCTP grants also support researchers by supplementing their salaries to measure up to international standards to help retain the best brains at these networks, and for the creation of a critical mass of researchers respected on the continent,” he said.
The stakeholder meeting on Regional Networks of Excellence for conducting clinical trials that took place in May 2007 in Duoala, Cameroon aimed at making recommendations to EDCTP in terms of selection and funding of successful sites to be included in the EDCTP Networks of Excellence.
“We want to see all diseases tackled at regional level by regional institutions with regional collaborations. In economic terms it will be exactly the same as Economic Community of West African States, the East African Community or the Southern African Development Community,” stated Dr Nyirenda.
At this stage EDCTP is committing 10 million euros towards the regional Networks of Excellence.
In Central Africa, the Central African Network on TB, HIV/AIDS and malaria (CANTAM) led by Dr Francine Ntoumi signed a contract in December 2008. This project is now in full swing.
The East Africa Consortium for Clinical Research (EACCR) led by Dr Pontiano Kaleebu has secured funding from EDCTP, NACCAP and MRC UK. This project is starting its activities in the fourth quarter of 2009.
West Africa capacity building to prepare West African sites for clinical trials on HIV, TB and malaria are ongoing and the network is led by Professor Souleymane Mboup with a contract signed in July 2009. The network activities are already underway.
Trials of Excellence for Southern Africa (TESA) is under the stewardship of Dr Alexander Pym This project was approved in February 2009.
Filed Under: Monday
