EDCTP Africa Office

The challenge

EDCTP programmes have always operated as ‘partnerships of equals’ between European and African member states. EDCTP programmes have long had an Africa Office, located in Cape Town, South Africa, and hosted by the South African Medical Research Council. Together with a European Office, the Africa Office is part of the virtual secretariat of the EDCTP Association and acts as a focal point for EDCTP activities in the African region.

Global Health EDCTP3 is a partnership between the European Union (represented by the European Commission) and the EDCTP Association, which represents the interests of African and European member states participating in the initiative. The Africa Office is a key component of the activities of the EDCTP Association. 

With an increasing number of African countries joining the EDCTP Association and participating in the Global Health EDCTP3 programme, and with the scale of funding continuing to grow, it is essential that the Africa Office has the capacity to strengthen and expand its activities in the region to maximise the programme’s impact.

The project

Additional funding to the EDCTP Association will enable it to maintain a strengthened Africa Office and increase the profile of the Global Health EDCTP3 programme within the African region.

The funding will support a range of activities including:

• Strengthening collaborations with key stakeholders in the African region, including like-minded organisations, other funders, industry and other bodies working in the field with similar aims.
• Facilitating the renewal or development of new memoranda of understanding with key regional partners, including the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), Africa Union Development Agency/New Partnership for Africa Development (AUDA-NEPAD), and the WHO African Regional Office.
• Facilitating greater exchange and collaboration across EDCTP Regional Networks of Excellence and pandemic preparedness networks.
• Supporting the design and implementation of Global Health EDCTP3-funded capacity-building activities.
• Organising workshops on proposal development and grants management.
• Organising annual scientific meetings of EDCTP Fellows from the Africa region.
• Maintaining and promoting use of the EDCTP Alumni Platform.
• Contributing to Global Health EDCTP3 communication and outreach activities.
• Contributing to the organisation of EDCTP Forums.
• Promoting open science practices to ensure that new knowledge generated through Global Health EDCTP3 funding delivers the most public benefit globally.

Impact

Funding to the Africa Office will ensure that the Global Health EDCTP3 programme has a strong visible presence in sub-Saharan Africa. It will:

• Build EDCTP visibility in sub-Saharan Africa and strengthen relationships with key regional stakeholders.
• Support multiple aspects of capacity building in the region.
• Promote linkages and building of South–South and South-North collaborations, as well as public–private partnerships.
• Improve the quality of grant applications and efficiency of grants management within African institutions. 

Through these activities, the Africa Office will play a key role in ensuring that sub-Saharan Africa countries continue to be equal partners in the EDCTP partnership, while also contributing to the strengthening of the research and innovation ecosystem in the region.