Innovative digital health solutions for sub-Saharan Africa

Opened

Programme Category

EU Competitive Programmes

Programme Name

Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking

Programme Description

The Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking (GH EDCTP3) builds on the first and second European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership programmes. This new joint undertaking (JU) is a partnership between the EU and the EDCTP Association, whose members are several European and African countries. The partnership will deliver new solutions for reducing the burden of infectious diseases in SSA and strengthen research capacities to prepare and respond to re-emerging infectious diseases in this region and across the world.

Programme Details

Identifier Code

HORIZON-JU-GH-EDCTP3-2024-01-06-two-stage

Call

Innovative digital health solutions for sub-Saharan Africa

Summary

This topic focuses on innovative digital health solutions for sub-Saharan Africa. Integration of digital health innovations in national and/or regional strategies and context will be instrumental to ensure long-term impact and sustainability.

Detailed Call Description

Proposals are expected to:

  • Be anchored in the scope Global Health EDCTP3 and of national/regional digital health strategies;
  • Target demonstrated highest medical needs in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Tackle justified context-specific needs;
  • Develop, improve or upscale solutions, with early-stage involvement of end users and health services implicated;
  • Propose solutions which demonstrate seemless integration interoperability with key existing national, regional or global systems;
  • Propose tools which are sustainable, accessible, open-source, evidence-based and which follow the standards of data protection and digital health global public goods;
  • Propose a sound sustainability/integration strategy and prevent further fragmentation of the digital health ecosystem through a multiplication of pilots. Proposals of new tools must justify the need for additional developments and the shortcomings of available solutions. Strong evidence is expected for the justification of proposed actions. Access to evidence for existing solutions must be demonstrated.

Proposals could be related to one or more of the following areas:

  • Scaling-up of digital innovations that have already yielded proven results, and their transferring to other countries where they have not yet been adopted;
  • Digital systems used in the implementation of clinical research and patients management;
  • Integration of digital health resources and data systems in sub-Saharan African countries with limited capacity, defining best practices, open standards, and quality-assured building blocks such as data harmonisation.
  • Remote access to diagnostics capabilities and health professionals;
  • Optimisation and adaptation of bioinformatics pipeline for next-generation-sequencing data and omics analyses in relation to the infectious diseases in scope;
  • Systems biology applications to sustain health technology manufacturing, development, and optimisation;
  • Systematic architectures and warehouses, at both national and provincial level, for clinical and epidemiological data collection, respecting the FAIR guidelines (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable);
  • Adaptation of image-based analysis tools and software for diagnostics systems of diseases in scope.

Call Total Budget

€20.000.000

Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan

Expected EU Contribution per project: 5.000.000

Thematic Categories

  • Health
  • Research, Technological Development and Innovation

Eligibility for Participation

  • Central Government
  • International Organisations
  • Legal Entities
  • Other Beneficiaries
  • Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
  • State-owned Enterprises

Eligibility For Participation Notes

Applicants are reminded of the expectation that proposals should come from research consortia with a strong representation of institutions and researchers from sub-Saharan African countries, including involvement of Lranco/Lusophone countries if possible. Applicants are also reminded of the expectation of reaching out to organisations in countries with relatively lower research capacities.

To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding.

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:

  • The Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden;
  • The Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States: Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR);
  • Countries associated to Horizon Europe: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand (associated to Pillar II ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’ as from the Work Programmes 2023 onwards, including for the institutionalised European partnerships), North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine.

Until association agreements start producing legal effects either through provisional application or their entry into force, transitional arrangements apply. The transitional arrangements apply, at the time of the adoption of this Work Programme, with regard to the following countries and legal entities established in these countries, with which association negotiations are being processed or where association is imminent):

1. Canada

2. Morocco

  • The following countries which are constituent states of the EDCTP Association: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Consortium composition

Unless otherwise provided for in the specific call conditions, for all actions, due to the policy objectives of the Global Health EDCTP3 JU, legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions under the programme provided that the consortium includes:

  • At least three legal entities independent from each other and established in different countries, where legal entities are eligible to receive funding;
  • At least one independent legal entity established in a Member State or an associated country; and
  • At least one independent legal entity established in a sub-Saharan African (SSA) country that is a member of the EDCTP Association.

This condition applies to both Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA).

Specific cases:

Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.

Associated partners — Entities not eligible for funding (and therefore not able to participate as beneficiaries) may participate as associated partners, unless specified otherwise in the specific call conditions.

International organisations – International European research organisations are eligible to receive funding. Other international organisations are not eligible to receive funding unless their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or associated country are eligible to receive funding when provided for in the specific call conditions.

Call Opening Date

18/01/2024

Call Closing Date

12/09/2024

EU Contact Point

EDCTP – Europe Office
Postal and visiting address: Anna van Saksenlaan 51, 2593 HW The Hague, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 70 344 0880

EDCTP – Africa Office
Postal address: P.O. Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, Cape Town, South Africa
Visiting address: Francie van Zijl Drive, Parowvallei 7505, Cape Town, South Africa
Telephone: +27 21 938 0690
Fax: +27 21 938 0569

Contact Form in the website