In collaboration with the Portuguese public agency that supports science, technology and innovation, EDCTP organises a session on the urgent need to ensure greater coordination, mobility and linkage between the research, policy and development aid communities. The objectives of the session are to:

1. Present existing networks in sub-Saharan Africa that promote capacity strengthening and quality clinical research in the field of infectious diseases;
2. Discuss ways how greater coordination can be achieved between global health initiatives and funders supporting capacity strengthening and clinical research in low-and-middle-income countries;
3. Provide recommendations on how existing networks can complement each other, including on potential opportunities/synergies for future collaboration.

When the complementarity of networks, of capacity strengthening and clinical research activities supported by different funders is taken into account, a concerted effort would make it possible to align, coordinate or integrate these activities and thus maximise their impact.

Download symposium programme (PDF)