A
multi-million-pound emergency funding package for research that could help to
contain the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and future outbreaks of infectious
disease was announced on August 20, 2014, by the Wellcome Trust
Wellcome
Trust also announced the establishment of a strategic partnership with the
Dangote Foundation, an African-based international philanthropic organisation,
to support further Ebola research. The emergency Ebola initiative, which
includes contributions from partner funders, will support research that can
swiftly begin to investigate new approaches to treating, preventing and
containing the disease, during the current epidemic in West Africa. It will
also support research into the ethical challenges of testing experimental
medicines during epidemics
Its goals
are to identify clinical and public health interventions, including drugs and
vaccines, with the potential to contribute to tackling the present crisis in
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria, and to inform the way in which
future epidemics of Ebola and other infectious diseases are handled
As well as
funding emergency Ebola research, the Wellcome Trust, the world's
second-highest-spending charitable foundation, is making a further long-term
commitment to African health through a £40million programme of support for
excellence in African research. The investment, which marks a step change in
the Trust's activity in Africa, will support the continent to develop a
world-class medical research base so it is better equipped to investigate and
tackle its greatest health challenges
Dr. Jeremy
Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said: "The Wellcome Trust is
investing today in a package of research that can make a difference to Africa
in the short, the medium and the long term. Measures to contain, treat and
prevent diseases such as Ebola can be evaluated only in the context of
epidemics like this one, which is why support for research is needed
immediately. We are grateful to the partners who have helped us to launch these
initiatives so quickly
"The
gravity of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa demands an urgent response, and we
believe rapid research into humanitarian interventions and therapeutics can
have an impact on treatment and containment during the present outbreak. What
we learn could also change the way we approach future outbreaks, providing us
with tested tools and techniques that were not available to public health
authorities this time
"In the
long run, African countries will be best placed to address emerging and endemic
infections, established threats such as HIV, TB and malaria, and the growing
problem of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, stroke and
mental health, if the continent has an outstanding research base able to
respond to Africa's needs."
Aliko
Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Foundation, said: "We are pleased to
partner with a leading research organisation like the Wellcome Trust in
tackling the deadly Ebola virus. The current Ebola crisis underlines the
importance for institutions like ours to get involved in supporting medical
research."
The support
include rapid-response funding for humanitarian research into combating the
Ebola outbreak in West Africa; a call for research proposals that would
evaluate experimental therapies and vaccines for Ebola, focusing on clinical
studies that could begin during the current epidemic; and an initial £40m over
five years to launch Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science
Africa (DELTAS Africa), which has a long-term vision of developing a new
generation of outstanding African health researchers.
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