End of year message by Dr Michael Makanga

Dear colleagues, partners and friends,

As we approach the end of 2024, I would like to reflect on what we have achieved together this year and what lies ahead in 2025 and beyond. 

This is also an opportunity to take stock of my inaugural year as Executive Director of Global Health EDCTP3, the third iteration of the EDCTP programme, now a fully autonomous body of the European Union (EU).

A growing partnership

In 2024, we have continued to work closely with the European Commission and the EDCTP Association, the two partners in the Governing Board, which is the ultimate decision-making body of our partnership. It is with great satisfaction that we saw our budget grow from €1.6 to €1.86 billion. 

Based on our criteria for prioritisation of funding, as outlined in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, part of this additional budget was used for new research activities, such as our emergency response to the mpox outbreak. It also enabled us to fund more highly rated projects than we had initially planned across all our 2024 calls. Moreover, support for projects from our 2023 call providing funding to successfully finalise EDCTP-funded clinical trials that were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, was concluded.

During this year, Eswatini and Namibia became member countries of the EDCTP Association, bringing the total number of African countries participating in the partnership to 30. By joining the EDCTP Association, they will be able to engage in and receive funding through Global Health EDCTP3 activities. I hope that in 2025 we will continue enlarging our partnership and increase our reach in Africa and Europe.

In this context, it goes without saying that I was very pleased to see Global Health EDCTP3 mentioned as a key initiative for scientific collaboration with Africa in the final communiqué of the G7 Ministers Meeting on Science and Technology in July 2024. This recognition builds on the tangible outcomes achieved by our partnership over more than 20 years.

Additionally, as part of the EU global health strategy implementers, we were actively involved in the high-level AU-EU dialogue to strengthen the health partnership, which was followed by the high-level event on deepening the EU-AU partnership in global health for equitable access, organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU in March 2024.

A diverse portfolio of projects

As we celebrate the third anniversary of Global Health EDCTP3, I would like to share where we stand in terms of our research investments.

So far, we have funded 74 global health research projects with a total project value of €254 million. Out of these, 59 are research and innovation projects tackling infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa and 15 are projects related to capacity-building, networking and training activities. These projects span a variety of disease areas and intervention types. I invite you to look at the charts below for an overview of our portfolio and stay tuned for the further enriched portfolio in early 2025 following addition of the new awards from the recently concluded seven 2024 two-stage calls.

A total of 306 participating entities are involved in these projects and, in the true spirit of a partnership of equals, the majority come from 34 sub-Saharan Africa countries and 18 European countries, with global collaborations extending to participating entities based in Australia, Canada and the United States.  

I invite you to explore the projects area of this website to find out more about the activities we fund.

Combatting mpox 

In 2024, the World, and Africa especially, witnessed a surge in mpox cases, with thousands of infections reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries. Global Health EDCTP3 reacted swiftly, activating its emergency funding mechanism and launching a dedicated call for proposals on 30 April 2024.

I am pleased to announce that nine research projects combatting the current mpox outbreak are underway, with co-funding from the European Union, the EDCTP Association (via the UK Department of Health and Social Care and ANRS Maladies infectieuses émergentes) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). I am grateful for the support of our longstanding strategic partners, which helped maximise the impact of this call.

In this regard, I was delighted to see Global Health EDCTP3 recognised by Africa CDC and the World Health Organization for its role in supporting the mpox continental preparedness and response plan for Africa last September.

Engaging our partners 

Alongside our funding partnerships in response to the mpox outbreak, this past year also saw an increased level of engagement with both longstanding and new strategic partners in other areas, including to reinforce our partnership with the European Commission and our member countries. 

In September 2024, Global Health EDCTP3 hosted a high-level meeting with key EU research and health leaders moderated by the editors-in-chief of The Lancet, to exchange on the EU investments and future perspectives in global health and explore areas for close collaboration across EU initiatives going forward. Last month, I also had the privilege of accompanying Mr Marc Lemaître, Director General of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, during a two-day visit to Cape Town, South Africa, where he participated in public health-focused events organised by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation of South Africa, showcasing significant strides in health research and innovation supported by EU partnerships. 

In June 2024, we were delighted to have BioNTech sign up as a Global Health EDCTP3 Contributing Partner in relation to our 2024 call on training fellowships. Furthermore, a Global Health EDCTP3 team travelled to Washington D.C in August 2024 for a series of meetings with the Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD) Bureau and key global health actors of the US Government departments and agencies, which advanced earlier discussions on identifying synergies and opportunities for collaboration that will strengthen our ties in the future. 

I look forward to seeing these, and many other exchanges over the past year, develop into tangible actions that we will take forward with our partners in the new year. 

Work Programme 2025

On 17 December 2024, we published the Work Programme 2025, the largest and most ambitious since the creation of Global Health EDCTP3. With a total indicative budget of €214 million, it includes four calls for proposals with seven topics addressing both specific disease areas and overarching global health challenges. In 2025, we will support a range of Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) aimed at developing novel vaccines and therapeutics for tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases. 

Additionally, we will fund Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) strengthening the enabling environment for conducting clinical research in Africa, at the individual level through fellowships in public health with emphasis on the areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, and modelling, as well as at the institutional level through regional networks of excellence for preparedness and response to outbreaks. 

The rapidly growing climate and health challenge will be addressed in a dedicated topic focused on tackling diarrhoeal diseases. Additionally, we aim to foster novel and emerging transformative innovations in global health developing interventions serving underserved populations or making them more affordable and accessible. Both topics are Research and Innovation Actions (RIA).

In the coming weeks, we will organise Info Days and I invite all those interested in submitting a proposal to attend these online events and spread the word.

Twelfth EDCTP Forum 

From 15-20 June 2025, Global Health EDCTP3 and the EDCTP Association will jointly organise the Twelfth EDCTP Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, hosted by the Ministry of Health of Rwanda and the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. Over 1,000 delegates are expected to attend our biennial event under the theme ‘Better health through global research partnerships’. We have an exciting and thought-provoking programme in store that reflects our growing efforts in scientific excellence and leadership in advancing global health. 

The call for submission of abstracts and scientific symposia is open until 23 February 2025 and I invite researchers and stakeholders to engage and submit their proposals for an opportunity to participate in the Forum. Registrations to attend the event will open soon, please keep an eye out on our social media channels for updates. I hope to see many of you in Kigali!

Until then, I take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the work of Global Health EDCTP3: our Governing Board, Scientific Committee and Stakeholders Group for their invaluable support and guidance, our strategic partners that help us amplify our impact through joint collaborations, our beneficiaries that turn strategic priorities into actions on the ground, my staff at the Programme Office in Brussels, and all those who, in one way or another, support our goal of investing in research for better health for all.

Our growing partnerships and shared dedication continue to advance global health research and innovation in meaningful ways. Together, we step into 2025 with appreciation of the progress made and renewed energy to achieve far-reaching impact and improved lives globally.

I wish you and your loved ones a blessed festive season and a Happy New Year. 

Dr Michael Makanga, Global Health EDCTP3 Executive Director.