Newsletter
October 2025
Looking Forward with Purpose
Dear Readers,
At the GloPID-R’s annual General Assembly, hosted this week by our member ANRS MIE in Paris, we have once again brought together our Members, Observers, the Secretariat, and the Board. The General Assembly is a moment for collective reflection as it offers an opportunity to take stock of lessons learned, celebrate achievements, and chart the strategic direction for the year(s) to come.
The year behind us has been a stark reminder of why our work matters. Clade I mpox spread across Central and Eastern Africa, prompting a WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern declaration in August 2024, with the more transmissible clade 1b variant subsequently spreading internationally, including both travel-associated and unassociated cases reported in multiple countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. Senegal is confronting its worst Rift Valley Fever outbreak in decades with spill over in Mauritania and other Sahelian regions, with sequencing confirming lineage H — a strain previously seen in Senegal’s 2020 and 2022 clusters and in Mauritania’s 2020 outbreak suggesting persistence versus a new introduction. We witnessed the emergence of a new H5N1 genotype in the dairy cattle D1.1 which is now the dominant strain in migratory birds, Chikungunya surge of cases, 445,271 suspected and confirmed cases and 155 deaths globally across 40 countries, with mainland France experiencing a novel outbreak of 570 locally acquired cases—driven over 54,000 cases in Réunion Island, and the emergence of the novel Oropouche viral lineage spreading beyond its traditional endemic zones. Cases of measles surged dramatically, underscoring the fragility of our gains against vaccine-preventable diseases. As we write the DRC and international partners are responding to the DRC’s declared sixteenth Ebola outbreak from a novel spill over event in Kasai Province, a remote, hard-to-reach area in eastern DRC. These outbreaks collectively demonstrate that the threats we face are not hypothetical—they are here, they are evolving, and they demand coordinated action.
As outbreak risks continue, the global health research ecosystem is undergoing transformation in recognition of ongoing risks to global health security. The WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted by 124 countries in May 2025, represents the second major legally binding treaty under the WHO Constitution, embedding equity and accountability into global health governance. The World Bank’s Pandemic Fund has awarded $885 million in grants, catalyzing an additional $6 billion for preparedness in 75 countries. The WHO established Collaborative Open Research Consortia (CORCs), one year into their formation around pathogen families, are working towards research agendas. However, financial constraints and cuts to biomedical research, implementation, and heath care funding threaten to undermine progress, making efficient coordination among funders more critical than ever.
In this context, our collective voice and shared commitment have never been more important. At the heart of our discussions this year will be how GloPID-R can continue to strategically strengthen collaboration across this evolving global ecosystem to ensure coordination for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and accelerated research response aligned with health emergency goals. This General Assembly will provide a vital opportunity for members to shape our direction forward—your perspectives, experiences, and insights from the field are essential as we navigate these challenging times together.
One highlight of 2025 has been the launch of our Global Research Improving Pandemic Preparedness (GRIPP) mechanism’s first coordinated funding call, focused on strengthening the clinical research ecosystem in low- and middle-income countries to improve clinical trial good practices. This milestone marks the delivery of a key commitment made to our members to establish a coordinated, multinational funding mechanism that supports equitable, sustainable preparedness. The strong engagement seen at the GRIPP informational webinar, attended by over 100 participants from more than 30 countries, demonstrates the power of our collective approach and the global relevance of member-driven initiatives.
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GloPID-R news
GloPID-R’s GRIPP Coodinated Funding launches First Call
On September 4, GloPID-R launched the first call of its Global Research Pandemic Preparedness (GRIPP) coordinated funding mechanism, ‘Outbreak Ready: Accelerating Clinical Trial Site Readiness in LMICs’. Designed to leverage members’ existing investments in pandemic preparedness, GRIPP Call 1 aims to strengthen clinical trial capacity in low- and middle-income countries ensuring low-resource settings are research-ready to lead and deliver effective, equitable trials in future outbreaks.
The successful launch of this inaugural call marks a significant milestone in delivering on GloPID-R’s commitment to establish a coordinated, multinational funding mechanism to strengthen global pandemic preparedness.
A GRIPP informational webinar was co-hosted by the GloPID-R Secretariat and the EDCTP Association on 12th October, and was attended by over 100 researchers, clinicians, and global health professionals from more than 30 countries, predominantly from low- and middle-income regions. The session provided a detailed overview of the call, eligibility criteria, and application process, followed by a Q&A.
Pandemic PACT
Earlier this month, the Pandemic PACT programme created a new page on their website to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This page links to regularly updated outbreak reports and pathogen-specific data visualisations. You can explore the page here.
The Pandemic PACT programme has also finished expanding their database to include 19 additional pathogens, to include all high-priority pathogens and pathogen families identified by the WHO’s R&D Blueprint for Epidemics. You can learn more about this in their latest news piece here.
GloPID-R Clinical Trials Working Group Roadmap referenced in recent joint statement
Through a joint statement on 25th September, 2025, some of the world’s largest funders of medical research have committed to implement WHO standards to strengthen clinical trials systems. The statement builds on the 2017 WHO Joint Statement on public disclosure of clinical trial results and references the 2023 GloPID-R Funders’ Roadmap for Clinical Trial Coordination, developed by the GloPID-R Clinical Trials Working Group.
Member news
EDCTP3Global Health EDCTP3 Advances Research on HIV, Malaria, and Neglected Diseases
New Projects target HIV and malaria among other diseases
The 2024 Global Health European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 3 (Global Health EDCTP3) calls have resulted in the selection of 29 projects with research and innovation spanning areas such as HIV, malaria, neglected infectious diseases, and digital health, these initiatives aim to deliver tangible impact where it is needed most. The newly signed projects represent an investment of €161 million, complemented by an additional €29 million committed to projects currently under grant preparation.
104 project proposals received for 2025 Global Health EDCTP3 calls
Global Health EDCTP3 has received 104 applications by the 3 September second-stage deadline for the 2025 calls. Applicants have requested nearly €666.5 million in Global Health EDCTP3 funding, against the indicative call budget of €239.8 million.
The 2025 Global Health EDCTP3 calls invited applicants to submit applications across seven different topics for the largest and most ambitious work programme since the creation of the Joint Undertaking in 2021.
CEPICEPI Accelerates Vaccine Research to Combat Emerging Infectious Diseases
West African leaders chart path against Lassa fever
In a joint statement, the ministers committed to supporting the continued development of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)’s Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)-funded Lassa fever vaccine candidate through a collaborative co-funding approach and joint action to mobilise and secure resources through advocacy and regional coordination. They also pledged to strengthen national and regional platforms and infrastructure – including clinical trial sites, laboratories and regulatory authorities – so they are ready to advance a Lassa vaccine to licensure and to bolster the region’s preparedness to respond to other infectious disease outbreaks.
ANRSANRS MIE Advances Global Health Research and Strengthens International Collaboration
ANRS MIE and WHO Lead Filovirus Research Priorities Following Ebola Outbreak
Appointed by WHO to lead the Collaborative Open Research Consortium (CORC) on Filoviruses, French National Research Agency for HIV, viral hepatitis and emerging infectious diseases (ANRS MIE) continues to strengthen global epidemic preparedness through its role as a WHO Collaborating Center. Following the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ANRS MIE and WHO convened experts from the consortium on 5th September, 2025 to identify ten key research priorities supporting the immediate response and future preparedness efforts.
Funding Calls
IDRCIDRC Opens CLIMAS and ESA ARCH Calls for Climate and Health Research Proposals
2025 CLIMAS Call for Proposals
CLIMAS (Latin America and Caribbean Hub for Climate Change and Health – Centro de Cambio Climático y Salud para Latinoamérica y el Caribe) coordinated by the Institute of Public Health of the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana with the support of the Institute of Public Health of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, is seeking to strengthen technically and financially projects that promote new ideas and concrete solutions to respond to the challenges that climate change generates in health. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the project is led by the Institute of Public Health of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, in collaboration with the Institute of Public Health of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, and is funded by IDRC Canada and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom.
