EDCTP drives health equity by prioritising underserved populations - including women,[1] newborns[2] and children,[3] urban poor and rural communities[4] - helping accelerate Africa’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage. It funds health technologies that are safe, effective, and suited to real-world conditions: treatments usable without electricity or clean water, medicines that can be administered by teachers or relatives, and tools adapted for remote settings with patient follow-up to maximise outcomes.[5] EDCTP also backs telemedicine platforms and mobile solutions that expand diagnosis, consultation and treatment for communities with limited access to healthcare facilities.
Equity and trust guide EDCTP’s work: research and resulting technologies are required to be accessible, acceptable, and gender-responsive, developed with high ethical standards and active community participation. EDCTP has adopted the TRUST Code[6] of Conduct for equitable research partnerships, making it a requirement for all funded projects, and inspired by it, the PREPARED Code[7]was developed to provide an ethical framework for research during health crises. They help prevent ethics dumping, support local leadership in research ethics, and build trust between researchers and communities, enabling higher-quality and more impactful interventions, while reinforcing local health systems.
Sources:
[1] Global Health EDCTP3 (2024) International Women’s Day 2024: Investing in women to accelerate progress
[2] MTBVAC in Newborns: Phase 2a Dose-Defining Safety and Immunogenicity Study and Capacity Building to Support Vaccine Efficacy Trials in Tuberculosis-Endemic Regions of Sub-Saharan Africa — ERA-LEARN & Evaluating the impact of the global evidence, local adaptation (GELA) project for enhancing evidence-informed guideline recommendations for newborn and young child health in three African countries: a mixed-methods protocol - PubMed
[3] CHAPAS-4, PEDICAP, GELA, MTBVAC
[4] COREP - International partnerships against infectious diseases & Feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of a social network-based, peer-led HIV self-testing intervention among men in two Ugandan fishing communities, 2022 | Archives of Public Health | Full Text
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Our added value for Africa
EDCTP improves health and prosperity in Africa by funding clinical research, strengthening local capacities, and empowering African scientists. Its investments reduce the burden of infectious diseases, boost productivity, and support sustainable development across the continent.
EDCTP builds Africa’s capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to outbreaks through training, research, and strong partnerships. Its work accelerates vaccine and diagnostic development and reinforces the continent’s health resilience.
EDCTP strengthens Africa’s clinical research ecosystem by investing in skills, infrastructure, and regulatory systems. Initiatives like CTCAN and PACTR connect researchers and regulators, expanding quality trials and fostering local leadership.
EDCTP strengthens Africa-led health partnerships with organisations like Africa CDC and WHO AFRO, aligning research and investment with continental priorities. As an AU–EU Innovation Agenda partner, it builds skills, fosters co-investment, and drives sustainable cooperation.
EDCTP promotes health equity by developing practical solutions for underserved communities, including newborns and children, women, urban poor and rural communities. It funds accessible technologies and digital tools that expand healthcare reach and improve outcomes for those most in need.
Our added value for Europe
EDCTP boosts Europe’s competitiveness by advancing research excellence, innovation, and public–private cooperation in global health. By supporting late-stage development and Africa–Europe partnerships, it bridges the EU innovation gap and creates new market and investment opportunities.
EDCTP strengthens Europe’s health security by tackling climate-sensitive diseases and antimicrobial resistance, enhancing surveillance, and accelerating medical countermeasures. Its rapid crisis responses, from Ebola to COVID-19, show its agility in protecting Europe and global health.
EDCTP drives Europe’s science diplomacy through fair Africa–Europe partnerships that tackle global health challenges. Its equitable governance and ethical research practices strengthen EU credibility and global influence.
EDCTP strengthens Europe’s leadership in digital health by investing in AI, data, and digital technologies while training researchers in fields like bioinformatics and genomic epidemiology.
EDCTP advances the EU’s human rights goals by promoting ethical, inclusive research that addresses unmet medical needs. It ensures innovations reach vulnerable populations while strengthening local scientific and health systems.
New and better medicines already saving and improving lives
RTS,S and R21/Matrix-M are the first vaccines against malaria and, more broadly, against any parasitic disease. Both vaccines stimulate an immune response that prevents malaria infection.
Coartem® Baby is the first approved malaria treatment specifically designed for newborns and young infants weighing 2 to less than 5 kg. It is a dissolvable tablet that can be mixed with breast milk, has a sweet cherry flavour to make administration easier, and delivers precise dosing.
Triomune Baby/Junior became the first fixed-dose combination medicine developed specifically for children with HIV and paved the way for additional improved combination therapies for first- and second-line HIV treatment in children.
This new fixed-dose combination therapy of albendazole/ivermectin targets five types of parasitic worms (four soil-transmitted helminth infections and lymphatic filariasis), which will significantly improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of large-scale interventions.
Arpraziquantel is the first child-friendly medicine in an oro-dispersible formulation to treat and cure schistosomiasis. It is easy to administer and adapted for rural and tropical settings, offering high efficacy with minimal side effects.
Fexinidazole Winthrop and Acoziborole Winthrop are two new oral treatments for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), known as sleeping sickness. Fexinidazole is the first all-oral therapy, while Acoziborole is the first single-dose, one-day treatment for the most common form of the disease.
This new therapy, a single high-dose of liposomal Amphotericin B, is as effective as the traditional week-long regimen, easier to administer, and causes fewer side effects. It is now the WHO-recommended therapy for cryptococcal meningitis.
A simple, three-part package combining screening, preventive treatment and community adherence support significantly cuts deaths among people starting HIV treatment with advanced disease.
Eurartesim® is a fixed-dose artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) containing dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHAPQ) for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria.
Molbio Truenat, with MTB-Plus and RIF-Dx assays, is a portable, battery-powered molecular diagnostic tool for tuberculosis (TB) testing directly in primary health care settings.
Pyramax® is an established antimalarial medicine whose safety and efficacy have been progressively expanded through EDCTP-supported research to reach more patient groups who lack specific treatment options, including children, pregnant women and patients requiring re-treatment.
The PredART trial showed that prednisone, a common and inexpensive steroid drug used to treat Tuberculosis-Associated Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (TB-IRIS), can also be used to prevent it.
A three-drug antiretroviral regimen given to HIV-positive women in late pregnancy and through breastfeeding cuts HIV transmission to babies safely, without requiring mothers to stop breastfeeding.
Moxidectin is an oral medicine for onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness. It was first approved by the US FDA in 2018 for people aged 12 and older. Research co-funded through EDCTP2 and continued under Global Health EDCTP3 has since extended its use to children as young as four.