Worldwide Africa

The partnership on FNSSA aims to address the challenges laid down in SDG 2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) by stimulating the joint AU-EU research and innovation activities for an initial period of ten years. This will complement current R&I partnerships supporting the STISA objectives of food security.

Key goals of the FNSSA partnership thus include to:

• Boost the impact of AU-EU joint research at local level by addressing the entire value-chain, strengthening capacity-building (human, research infrastructures and institutional) and focusing on demonstration projects and pilot actions to bring R&I results to the users;
• Improve access to sustainably produced, nutritious and safe food, enhance income growth and promote rural development, contributing as such to Agenda 2030 (SDGs).

The partnership channeled a joint investment of EUR 381 million on four priorities:

• Sustainable intensification;
• Agriculture and food systems for nutrition;
• Expansion and improvement of agricultural trade and markets;
• A group of cross-cutting topics.

The FNSSA project database is part of the task to map and cluster ongoing and recently finished projects contributing to the FNSSA roadmap. It currently counts more than 200 current and concluded projects and contains projects in the area of FNSSA, funded by the European Commission framework programs such as Horizon 2020, as well as the African Union Research Grants. In addition, the database also contains a number of relevant projects from other EU Directorate Generals (DGs), and from various national funders within the EU. The projects all have participants from countries in Africa and Europe in cooperation.

For the successful implementation of the partnership, an AU-EU FNSSA working group was set up in March 2017, supported by the LEAP4FNSSA project and the former EU funded project research and innovation network for Europe and Africa (RINEA).

The FNSSA partnership is further associated with DeSIRA (Development Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture). The objective of the DeSIRA initiative is to contribute to climate-relevant, productive and sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems in low and middle-incomes countries. The FNSSA partnership supports the initiative by fostering international research, especially in Africa to address Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture.

Recent developments

The partnership is evolving with the new political priorities of the AU and EU. It is part of the ‘Green Partnerships’ in relation to the EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategies. By mid-2020 the partnership has mobilized funding in the order of 380 M€. The FNSSA working group met eight times in 2020 and has approved a study on policies, which takes account of the changing policy priorities and will help to develop the partnership further. A study on projects reports on the project portfolio helps to identify gaps. An infographic provides an overview on one page. Several projects started in 2020, among them FOODLAND, InnoFoodAfrica, HealthyFoodAfrica, EWA – BELT, SustainSAHEL, SustInAfrica, UPSCALE and Soils4Africa.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 is fully dedicated to energy. Thus, additionally to the FNNSA partnership, a roadmap for a jointly funded AU-EU R&I partnership on climate change and sustainable energy (CCSE) was adopted at the 4th AU-EU HLPD SOM in Brussels in October 2017.

The first pillar on climate action for adaptation and mitigation involves generating and translating climate-related data and applying technological and system solutions that support information management and dissemination, as well as developing an integrated knowledge approach to climate action. It will be geared towards supporting countries in their efforts to implement the Paris Agreement and achieve its goals. As the Partnership evolves, the activities will be further refined and new areas will be considered, in line with new and emerging priorities and innovations.

The second pillar focusses on renewable energy (including the development and integration of renewable energy in the energy system, planning and modelling sustainable energy systems, and strengthening basic research and technological development) and energy efficiency (e.g. increasing efficiency of production, promoting energy savings). With more than 16% of the world population in 2017, Africa accounts only for 5% of the world's global primary energy use. Moreover, in most AU countries 70 to 80% of used energy is generated from traditional biomass (wood fuel). Africa has abundant energy resources (fossil and renewable energy). However, the main issue remains energy access. In sub-Saharan Africa, the average electrification rate is just 35%. In rural areas it is very low (below 20%).

The roadmap of the AU-EU R&I partnership on CCSE can be prioritised in terms of three phases, taking into consideration the goals and requirements of the Paris Agreement and the need to promote access to sustainable and affordable energy, in line with the Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals:

• First phase: Establishment of enabling environment/capacity/regulations;
• Second phase:Conducting joint research in priority areas identified in the first phase;
• Third phase:Commercialisation and utilisation of research results.

An investment of EUR 84 million for climate services, renewable energy and energy efficiency will support the adaptation and mitigation efforts in various sectors for Africa and implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The new partnership will be assisted by valuable lessons learned from existing projects. Capacity-building, open data and open access are some of the cross-cutting issues addressed by the CCSE Partnership.

Recent developments

In the framework of the CCSE partnership, a working group was launched on 15 July 2020 with the task to explore future avenues of cooperation notably on green/renewable hydrogen, circular economy, energy efficiency in buildings, climate-environment-health nexus and climate. An online workshop on “COVID-19 and the health-energy climate nexus” in February 2021 is under preparation. Collaborative AU-EU activities in the field of sustainable energy include PRE-LEAP-RE, LEAP-REand ABC 21. In the field of climate changeCONFER; Down2Earthand FOCUS-Africa.

Africa-Europe Innovation Partnership (AEIP) is the pilot project of the innovation partnership and aims to connect high-quality tech hubs from both continents to explore opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships resulting in collaboration, exchange and growth. It was launched in 2019 with the support of the African Union Commission and paved the way for a deeper cooperation between the continents in the innovation sector. AEIP aims to support and connect innovation and technology incubators and accelerators in tapping into new markets, find their trusted partner across the Mediterranean as well as build new perspectives, knowledge and networks. Incubators, accelerators and technology transfer offices play a key role in fostering development of innovative enterprises. They allow start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to engage in (new) business opportunities by providing support, guidance, mentorships and coaching, as well as access to essential network contacts.

In order to best assist the needs of tech-hubs and entrepreneurs in Africa and Europe, the AEIP gathers and continuously updates a list of useful resources on topics such as European funding opportunities, tech-hub management and business models, innovative approaches to startup support and technology transfer. The AEIP also promotes events, provides news and contacts.

The 5th HLPD SOM declared then in its conclusions 2019 the importance of innovation within a broader partnership, its cross-cutting nature, and its potential for the creation of sustainable growth, development, jobs and thus stimulating entrepreneurship. The AEIP was welcomed as a critical framework to foster collaborative alliances and relationships between the continents:

• Ensuring regular exchange between key actors in Africa and Europe in AU-EU cooperation and innovation;
• Identification of key issues in AU-EU cooperation in innovation;
• Elaboration of potential for AU-EU cooperation in innovation;
• Development of key recommendations for the HLPD.

ENRICH in Africa

As a follow-up of the AEIP pilot, the project seeks to set-up a self-sustainable network of European and African incubators and accelerators, strengthening their capacities to boost their local innovation landscape as well as providing cutting edge value to entrepreneurs and innovators from both continents. Geographically, the network will cover both the European Union and the Sub-Saharan Africa region with an initial network coverage of ten participants from nine African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe), which will be expanded throughout the project and beyond by the consortium and a dedicated, Africa-based ENRICH in Africa Network Centre.

From a strategic level, the ENRICH in Africa project supports the strategic dialogue between Europe and Africa in innovation and builds on the successes of previous EU-funded Africa-EU innovation initiatives. By continuing their legacy in the African-European innovation cooperation area as well as deepening the links between the innovation stakeholder communities, the project will contribute to the soon to be established EU-Africa strategic partnerships by strengthening innovation in areas such as green transition & energy access, digital transformation and sustainable growth & jobs.

ENRICH in Africa started in January 2021 and will run until December 2023. The consortium of 12 project partners, consisting of experienced European and African organizations in incubation, acceleration, innovation networking, digital innovation platforms and innovation funding, will implement the project in close collaboration with experts of the advisory board as well as key innovation actors from both continents.

International cooperation is a fundamental and inherent component of health research. In recent decades, the African Union Commission and the European Commission have strengthened their collaboration on global health and multilateral research. The current health disparities and the asymmetries in global health and health research, reveal the importance of a strong cooperation between Africa and Europe to address these issues.

At present, the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) is a public-public partnership between sixteen African and fourteen European countries, supported by the European Union. EDCTP is fully embedded in the AU-EU High-Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology and Innovation. Established in 2003, EDCTP is a key part of the longstanding cooperation between Africa and Europe in health research. Its goal is to reduce the social and economic burden of poverty-related diseases in developing countries, in particular sub-Saharan Africa, by accelerating the clinical development of effective, safe, accessible, suitable and affordable medical interventions for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected infectious diseases.

The second EDCTP programme (EDCTP2) also has a focus on vulnerable populations often excluded from clinical trials, including pregnant women, infants, children, adolescents, and people with additional health conditions (co-infections and co-morbidities). EDCTP2 supports clinical trials, as well as implementation research.In addition, the EDCTP is making an important contribution for research capacity building in Africa, supporting researchers’ careers and strengthening national health research systems.

Recent developments

In reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EDCTP launched an emergency call for expressions of interest to support research on the coronavirus. With a budget of EUR 11.75 million (EUR 2.25 million from Horizon 2020, and additional funding from France, Sweden, France, South Africa and UK), this call aims at funding research to manage and/or prevent the spread of the outbreak and support clinical management. This first call will support 24 projects, ranging from studies contributing to clinical trials for diagnostics and therapeutics, validation and adaptation of existing serological tests and point-of-care diagnostic tests, to studies contributing to better understanding of the natural history of infection and improving surveillance capabilities and understanding of the role of asymptomatic infection in transmission.

• An EUR 18 million Coordination and Support Actions call was launched to strengthen EDCTP’s Regional Networks of Excellence, the research centres involved in clinical trials in the four regions of sub-Saharan Africa, these being: West WANETAM, East EACCR2, Central CANTAM and South TESA. Specifically, this was aimed at improving their clinical research capacity to conduct multi-country clinical trials as well as to consolidate South-South and North-South collaborations between researchers and institutions, encouraging networking to maximise the impact of clinical research in Africa.
• A EUR 5 million call was launched for further capacity development for disease outbreak and epidemic response in sub-Saharan Africa, in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), namely by training and establishing an African cohort of epidemiologists and statisticians.