Africa hosts only around 4% of global clinical trials; boosting clinical research across the continent is key to improving health outcomes and social and economic development. EDCTP’s investments build institutional capacity, attract innovation, foster local scientific leadership, and reinforce Africa’s health research ecosystem, aligning with the continent’s goals and strategies.[1]
EDCTP has enhanced clinical research ecosystems in Africa by supporting over 3,000 researchers and health professionals through fellowships, postgraduate training, and targeted skill-building. It has also invested in advancing ethics oversight, regulatory systems[2] including pharmacovigilance,[3] and digital health capacities, complementing Team Europe Initiatives on Digital Health[4] and Manufacturing Health Technologies in Africa (MAV+).[5] Flagship initiatives that bolster Africa’s clinical trials ecosystems include the Clinical Trials Community Africa Network (CTCAN)[6] connecting researchers, regulators and industry to expand trials, and the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR)[7] – Africa’s first WHO-recognised registry – providing a trusted database of planned, ongoing and completed clinical studies conducted in Africa.
Sources:
[1] AUDA-NEPAD (2018) Health Research and Innovation Strategy for Africa (HRISA): 2018-2030
[2] Global Health EDCTP3 (2025) Strengthening regulatory capacity in sub-Saharan Africa; EDCTP (2024) Strengthening ethics review and regulatory capacity. Annual Activity Report 2024.
[3] EDCTP (2021) EDCTP portfolio: Pharmacovigilance 2014-2020
[4] European Commission (2024) Team Europe and African partners launch four initiatives to strengthen health systems and social protection in Africa.
[5] European Commission (2024) Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, medicines & health technology products in Africa (MAV+)
Related links
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.