The European-African partnership endeavour adds another dimension to EURICE’s growing health project portfolio, further strengthening our involvement in Global Health EDCTP3-supported research.
A new international research project has set out to improve treatment for children suffering from severe malaria and bacterial bloodstream infections. Supported by Global Health EDCTP3 and its members, the FACT project is developing and testing an innovative antibiotic-based combination therapy designed to address both potentially life-threatening conditions at the same time.
Malaria remains a major global health challenge, causing around 600,000 deaths each year, with children in sub-Saharan Africa particularly affected. Treating severe cases can be especially challenging because symptoms of malaria and bacterial bloodstream infections can be very similar – and children may suffer from both conditions simultaneously.
FACT seeks to address this challenge through a novel triple combination therapy bringing together artesunate, fosmidomycin and clindamycin. By combining medicines that act in different ways against malaria parasites and bacteria, the approach aims to improve treatment outcomes while helping to reduce the risk of drug resistance. It could also shorten hospital stays for affected children from up to six days to four days.
The initiative brings together partners from Europe and Africa in a close international collaboration, combining expertise from research institutions and organisations in Germany, Austria, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Ghana and Ethiopia. Coordinated by the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) in Germany, with scientific leadership from CERMEL in Gabon, the consortium reflects the strong European–African partnership at the heart of the project.
EURICE is an active partner in the consortium, contributing to effective management structures and collaborative workflows that facilitate coordinated action across the team, helping to translate the project’s ambitious research plan into practical outcomes and create the conditions for lasting impact.
Ultimately, FACT aims to provide healthcare professionals with a safer and more effective treatment approach that addresses two major causes of severe illness in children at the same time.
Read more about the project here.
Discover our HEALTH Innovation Ecosystem here.