PREPARE4VBD builds on the conviction that a true shift in our ability for early detection, prediction and control of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) of both livestock and humans in Africa and Europe, can only come from advancing a deep cross-organismal understanding of the features that allow VBDs to persist in endemic areas. We will therefore “cast the net wide” focusing on several VBDs and vector groups to explore synergistic opportunities for integrated and cost-effective approaches to optimize surveillance, prevention and control of VBDs. Specifically, we will address three vector groups (mosquitoes, ticks and snails) and a range of their diverse VBDs (Rift Valley Fever, ehrlichiosis, theileriosis and fasciolosis), to advance a broad, conceptual knowledge reaching beyond specific VBDs. We believe that only through a better understanding of what enables theVBDs and vectors to persist in their areas of origin, how they manage to spread or what allows some VBDs to successfully span the entire global North-South climatic gradient – will we gain the insights and actionable knowledge that enables us to predict the potential of VBDs to spread and establish in new areas. PREPARE will establish a truly multidisciplinary network of partner institutions in Europe and Africa, including leading capacities in mosquito- tick- and snail-borne diseases of livestock and humans. The partners cover a wide range of disciplines such as vector ecology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, metagenomics, climate change and predictive spatio-temporal modelling, epidemiology and One Health. Our suggested approach is proactive, focusing on better prevention of tick-, mosquito- and snail-borne diseases of livestock and humans, by increasing disease knowledge in Africa, developing improved tools for rapid detection and state-of-art model-based surveillance for early detection and forecasting to form a blueprint for best practices for optimized VBD surveillance strategies for the targeted diseases

The adverse consequences of infectious diseases, including HIB, hepatitis B, malaria, tuberculosis, syphilis, sepsis, and other poverty-related infectious diseases on pregnant and breastfeeding women and children are well recognised. We aim to scale up the LINDA-FAMILIA eRegistries, an innovative, interoperable, and adaptable open-source digital health information system within the DHIS2 platform (District Health Information Software), replacing paper-based systems in maternal and child health units in the following four regions in East Africa: Addis Ababa Region, Ethiopia; Eastern Province, Rwanda; Kilimanjaro, Tanzania; and Lango sub-Region, Uganda. The four regions have varying clinical and digital readiness needs and challenges. The system is designed to strengthen the health systems using 11 digital health interventions which were selected following WHO guidelines. The system will support clinical research by gathering harmonised longitudinal maternal and child data. The system will support epidemiological clinical research such as trialling vaccines at a low cost by using the real-world routinely collected data. This will speed up the production process of effective vaccines, other preventive measures and allow patients to access treatment and interventions and inform the development/improvement of clinical guidelines and health policies. The LINDA-FAMILIA proposal is in line with national digital health strategies in the four countries and the East Africa Digital REACH Initiative. Our proposal addresses the relevant public health short- and mid-term actions of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda 2023, including enabling improved equitable access to essential healthcare and providing the opportunities to create an international research hub and enhance sustainable global scientific collaborations. To achieve the expected impacts, we are partnering with the Ministry of Health in each country and will provide a country-specific LINDA-FAMILIA sustainability strategy.

The DI-DIDA project's overall objective is to tackle poverty-related infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa and African islands by i) strengthening the African research capacities, ii) enhancing technology development in diagnostics and digital technologies in Africa, and iii) encouraging adoption of innovations by sub-Saharan health authorities, clinicians, businesses, and patients. For that, the consortium includes leading partners from four sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda), one from African Islands (Réunion), and the EU. To reach our objectives, we will implement a combination of complementary actions: - Joint research projects on infectious diseases co-morbidities, human-livestock interactions, infectious diseases diagnostic technologies, digital health solutions for Africa, and socio-economic factors of innovation adoption by African people. - The co-development of an innovative low-cost diagnostic and digital/mHealth decision support technology and its integration into existing African digital health infrastructure. - Clinical trials. - A PhD fellowship for students in Africa with joint PhD awarding by EU counterparts. - Research capacity building (management, grant writing, publications etc.) - Staff exchanges. - Training. - Organisation of citizen and brokerage events targeting businesses and policy makers. - A comprehensive dissemination, exploitation, and communication action plan. The impact of this project will be: - Improved research / technology development and manufacturing /clinical trials capacities in sub-Saharan Africa. - New knowledge gained on several topics related with poverty-related infectious diseases. - Increased international networks and reinforcement of the collaboration between Africa and the EU. - A new low-cost diagnostics and decision support technology developed and its adoption fostered by dedicated studies and collaboration with health authorities. - Better informed sub-Saharan populations about infectious diseases.

An African-European consortium of 6 SSA countries and 3 European countries, gathering 12 partners is proposing a unique and innovative scalable training program and network that will produce empowered infectious diseases experts to lead and drive research from and for sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), at levels of early-stage career (post-graduate certification and doctoral) and mid-stage career (post-doctoral) in an integrated program of health informatics and data sciences (BRIDGE PROGRAM). The program consortium will set up 5 Centre of Excellence (CoEs) in SSA countries (Benin, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa). The CoEs will serve as training setting, field research setting and a hub for harmonized infectious diseases data, and all will recruit candidates from their countries for certification program, doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships but only 3 CoEs will be the degree awarding institutions. The degree awarding CoEs have been selected based on the existing university capacity to offer a degree awarding program or built on the existing partnerships between selected SSA public health institutes and local universities with degree awarding programs capacity. The program leverages the established collaborations between European and SSA institutions, utilizing accumulated medical data, including Electronic Health Records, registries, and biobanks. At the end of 54 months, program will have strengthened the institutional research leading capacities with at least 20 trainees per CoE with post-graduate certification, a total of 10 graduates with PhDs and a total of 4 post-doctoral fellows, skilled for harmonizing and analysing fragmented large data to derive data-driven insights and guide health policies. The CoEs embedded within public health institutions, with continuous mentorship from an international scientific community and a ready to use large amount of data, ensure the sustainability of training and collaborative research beyond the program grant.