CANTAM3: Central African Network on Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria

CANTAM was established to strengthen capacity in Central African countries without a strong tradition of clinical research, such as Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. During CANTAM1 and CANTAM2, it provided a platform for training of 19 master’s and 21 PhD students, while four career development fellowships have been awarded to female researchers. CANTAM2 supported a multicentre phase IV trial of a fixed-dose artemisinin combination therapy for malaria, which enrolled more than 8,500 patients across five sites.

Laboratory strengthening at different sites has created a shared platform to support the training of PhD students. The TB laboratory in Gabon has been upgraded and is now acting as the national reference laboratory for TB diagnostics.

CANTAM3, launched in 2021, will carry out baseline epidemiological studies for HIV, TB, malaria, neglected tropical diseases and COVID-19 to provide a basis for future clinical trials. It has a particular interest in developing a platform for rigorous clinical studies of traditional African medicines and strengthening pharmacovigilance including institutional and national ethics and regulatory authorities across central Africa in collaboration with pan-African initiatives such as AVAREF, AMRH and WHO-AFRO.