-  Introduction

EDCTP awards funding to collaborative clinical research projects conducted in sub-Saharan Africa on poverty-related infectious diseases, based on open, competitive and independently reviewed calls for proposals.

- Challenge

Co-infections with several pathogens are frequent in sub-Saharan Africa and represent an important public health problem in many areas due to accelerated and/or complicated disease progression, resulting in increased mortality and morbidity. These co-infections can result in unique challenges in treatment and prevention of disease, including increased drug toxicities and/or changes in efficacy of interventions. The rise in incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in sub-Saharan Africa and the necessity for long-term management of some poverty-related diseases and NCDs, often concurrently, adds to these complexities. There is therefore an urgent need for research that leads to advances in the development of new/improved products for the effective prevention, treatment and management of co-infections and co-morbidities.

- Scope

The purpose of this Call for Proposals is to support actions that lead to improvements in   the prevention, treatment and/or clinical management of co-infections and co-morbidities in sub-Saharan Africa. Proposals must include at least one infection within the EDCTP2 scope*. Proposals on co-infections and co-morbidities other than those involving HIV/AIDS are also encouraged.

Consortia should incorporate the latest innovations and advances in trial design and research methods in order to evaluate promising interventions. Proposals should include one or more clinical trial(s) to be conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. The clinical trial(s) must be supported by an appropriate regulatory approval and access strategy and/or include plans for uptake into policy and practice at national or international level. The proposed clinical trial(s) must be conducted to International Council on Harmonisation – Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP) regulatory and ethical standards.

Stand-alone epidemiological studies are outside the scope of this call. Proposals on diagnostics are also outside the scope of this call, but may be relevant for the separate call under this annual work plan on “Diagnostic tools for poverty-related diseases”.

- Deadline

- Budget

EDCTP considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EDCTP2 of between EUR 2.0 and 4.0 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

- Duration

EDCTP considers that proposals for activities of between 36 and 60 months duration would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals for activities of a different duration.

- Expected impact

Projects funded under this Call for Proposals should:

- contribute towards the reduction of the number of cases of co-infections and co-morbidities in sub-Saharan Africa and thus contribute to achieving SDG 3 ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

- advance products through the product development pipeline, and/or provide evidence to support label extension and/or be in line with EDCTP2’s strategic research agenda to be considered as having a higher impact.

-  Eligibility

A proposal will only be considered eligible if:

1. its content corresponds, wholly or in part, to the topic/contest description for which it is submitted
2. it complies with the eligibility conditions set out below, depending on the type of action:
   • Consortia comprising a minimum of three independent legal entities are eligible to apply. Two of the legal entities shall be established in two different Participating States (European Partner States)** and one of the legal entities must be established in a sub-Saharan African country***. All three legal entities shall be independent of each other.
   • ‘Sole participants’ formed by several legal entities (e.g. European Research Infrastructure Consortia, European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation, central purchasing bodies) are eligible if the above-mentioned minimum conditions are satisfied by the legal entities forming together the sole participant.

Notes

* In the EDCTP2 programme, “poverty-related diseases (PRDs)” include HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and the following neglected infectious diseases (NIDs): dengue/severe dengue; rabies; human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness); leishmaniases; cysticercosis/taeniasis; dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease); echinococosis; foodborne trematodiases; lymphatic filariasis; mycetoma; onchocerciasis (river blindness); schistosomiasis; soil-transmitted helminthiases; Buruli ulcer; leprosy (Hansen disease); trachoma; yaws; diarrhoeal infections; lower respiratory infections; as well as emerging infectious diseases of particular relevance for Africa, such as Ebola or yellow fever.

** The following European countries are EDCTP Participating States: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

*** The following African countries are eligible: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Congo (Republic), Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

More information at

http://www.edctp.org/call/diagnostic-tools-for-poverty-related-diseases/