In 2013, the 10th year of the EDCTP programme, the focus of activities was on management of active grants and preparations for the second EDCTP programme (EDCTP2). These preparations were part of the EDCTP-Plus project funded by the Coordination and Support Action grant (304786) from the European Commission. Funding from two of its Participating States (Sweden and United Kingdom) enabled EDCTP to launch a call for applications in August 2013. The Master’s Fellowships in Epidemiology and Medical Statistics aim to support the training and career development of junior researchers. Five stakeholder meetings were held on neglected infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other mycobacterial infections, as well as on research ethics review and regulatory affairs. The recommendations from the meetings contributed to EDCTP’s strategy and funding approaches for the second programme.

A second high-level meeting on EDCTP2 took place in Dakar, Senegal on 21 October 2013. High-level representatives from African countries, European Participating States as well as current and potential partners were brought together to reaffirm their commitment to the second EDCTP programme. The Seventh EDCTP Forum which was planned to take place in Dakar from 22-24 October 2013 had to be cancelled due to the necessity for the Senegalese government to host the ECOWAS Heads of State summit in the Forum venue during the scheduled dates.