EDCTP launches €118 million investment

01 June 2018

EDCTP published its 2018 calls for proposals after approval of its 2018 work plan. The eleven calls represent an overall investment of €118 million in clinical research and research capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. With these calls the EDCTP grant portfolio will grow to a total of approximately EUR 538 million, excluding additional cash co-funding raised from other sources.

“This marks the fifth year of implementation of the second programme of EDCTP and I am greatly encouraged by the growing number and quality of projects in our portfolio. I believe that the fresh injection of €118 million will maintain the momentum as we strive to tackle the questions that matter in addressing the unmet medical needs within our mandate.”

Dr Michel Makanga, EDCTP Executive Director

Annual work plan 2018

The annual work plan describes the activities to be conducted in 2018. It was approved by the European Commission and the EDCTP Association on 1 June 2018. In addition to specifying the calls for proposals, the work plan gives an overview of other 2018 activities such as training, advocacy, prizes, coordination of EDCTP TB vaccine-funded research, and support for health systems development.

EDCTP Annual work plan 2018 (PDF)

Clinical research and capacity development in 2018

Each year, EDCTP launches calls for proposals to achieve the objectives of its programme, i.e. development of new or improved interventions to address poverty-related infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa while also supporting the development of African (clinical) research capacity, including the capacity to review and regulate clinical research conducted in African populations.

Almost all EDCTP-funded projects integrate clinical research and capacity development. However, the various funding instruments have distinctive goals. Moreover, each year several calls are targeted to address specific health research priorities. These priorities are detailed in the EDCTP Strategic Research Agenda.

Clinical research – Research and Innovation actions (RIA). These calls are used to fund large scale clinical trials. In 2018, RIA calls are:

 

Capacity development – Coordination and support actions (CSA). These calls aim to support accompanying measures such as support for research collaboration, standardisation, coordination or maximising impact of research for health systems. In 2018, CSA calls are:

 

Individual capacity development – Training and mobility actions (TMA). These calls are primarily used to support the career development of individual African researchers.