//Meeting of the EDCTP Association and Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking staff

Meeting of the EDCTP Association and Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking staff

On the 23 and 24 April 2025, EDCTP Association staff members (Executive Director, Mr. Abdoulie Barry, and Operations Manager, Dr Pauline Beattie) from The Hague Office joined colleagues at the EDCTP Africa Office in Cape Town for an in-person meeting with staff from the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking: Mr. Vincent Declerfayt, Dr Liesbet de Cock, and Dr Silvia Garcia. The primary objective of this visit was to foster a shared understanding of several crucial areas, including:

  • The expanded functions of the EDCTP Africa Office within the context of the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking.
  • The evolving roles and responsibilities of programme offices located in Brussels, The Hague, and Cape Town.
  • The optimal models for fostering collaborative relationships among these three offices to ensure the effective delivery of the Global Health EDCTP3 programme in Africa until its conclusion in 2031.

Topics discussed included the role of the EDCTP Association as coordinator of projects from the EDCTP3 calls: Global collaboration action for strengthening the Regional Networks of Excellence and Epidemic Preparedness Consortia and Strategic Training Hubs for Fellowships in Public Health covering Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Modelling Funding for successful projects arising from these calls is anticipated to commence in January 2026.

The EDCTP Africa Office, led by Dr Thomas Nyirenda, is based in Cape Town and hosted by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), which provides essential support services, including human resources, IT and secure office space. The EDCTP Africa Office plays a pivotal role in promoting and executing the objectives of the Global Health EDCTP3 programme across Africa. One of the projects currently being implemented by the EDCTP Association, through the EDCTP Africa Office, is a three-year grant (Project Number 101103640) awarded to the EDCTP Association by Global Health EDCTP3. This project primarily aims to strengthen capacity building and foster strategic partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa.