Under the theme ‘Better health through global research partnerships’, the Twelfth EDCTP Forum is hosted by the Ministry of Health of Rwanda and the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, and jointly organised by Global Health EDCTP3 and the EDCTP Association. 

The event presents a unique opportunity for networking, to highlight and promote key scientific activities and to share new developments and results that can contribute to and inform future research and development.

Researchers working on projects supported under EDCTP2, Global Health EDCTP3 and other related Horizon Europe programmes are encouraged to use this opportunity to share new developments and results from their projects. Submissions from stakeholders working worldwide on health research in Africa are also welcome.

Abstracts and scientific symposia submitted should be relevant to the scope of the Global Health EDCTP3 Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and respond to the four broad categories presented below.

Submission categories/sub-categories

A – Advancing biomedical innovations

A1 – Advances in vaccines & neutralising antibodies development
A2 – Advances in drug development and tackling antimicrobial resistance
A3 – Advances in diagnostic development
A4- Coinfections and comorbidities

B – Knowledge translation and implementation science for public health impact
B1 – Implementation science and national health research systems
B2 – Maternal and child health
B3 – Climate crisis, pandemics/epidemics and health

C – Strengthening the research environment, research capacity and scientific leadership
C1 – Strengthening the ethics, regulatory and pharmacovigilance framework in Africa
C2 – Innovations in capacity strengthening, including digital technologies
C3 – Partnerships and alliances to enhance coordination, collaboration and cooperation

D – Equitable and ethical research
D1 – Ethics and human rights, including community engagement and good participatory practice in research
D2 – Advancing women in global health research
D3 – Equitable access to medical interventions

The deadline for abstract and scientific symposia submissions is 23 February 2025. The evaluation outcome will be communicated by April 2025.

Abstracts and scientific symposia should be submitted via the online submission system, which provides detailed instructions on the submission and evaluation process.

Financial support

Global Health EDCTP3 will support transport and accommodation costs for a limited number of early and mid-career investigators with high-ranking abstracts, who have been accepted to present an abstract. This support is intended for investigators with limited research funding.

Entities with active projects funded by Global Health EDCTP3 may declare the forum attendance costs as project costs (subject to eligibility conditions in Art.6 of the Grant Agreement).

Symposium organisers, chairs and speakers are responsible for their own funding to attend the meeting.

Background information

Over the past two decades, the EDCTP Forum has become one of the most prominent cross-disease and inter-disciplinary conferences focusing on clinical research and research capacity strengthening in sub-Saharan Africa. The Twelfth EDCTP Forum expects to welcome over 1,000 participants in person in Kigali.

The event brings together scientists, policymakers, funders, and global health partners in the field of clinical research and development for poverty-related diseases, with emphasis on African and European participation. It provides a valuable opportunity to share the latest research findings and to form new collaborative links with international colleagues.