Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire– May 26, 2025

Over the next four years the newly launched ComBac-Africa project (“Combating Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria in Africa through Diagnostic and Antimicrobial Stewardship”) will receive almost 5.9 million EUR from the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking established under the European Union’s Research and Innovation Programme, Horizon Europe. 

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health threat for humans, animals, and the environment, with the highest mortality and morbidity rates observed in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of deaths due to severe infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria (MDR GNB) in the region are steadily increasing. Yet, due to a lack of microbiological diagnostics in the Global South, critical pathogens often go undetected in patients and access to novel antibiotic treatments remains limited.

The ComBac-Africa project aims to address this growing crisis by establishing a needs-adapted diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship programme that provides equitable access to novel, often lifesaving, antibiotics for targeted treatment. In collaboration with partners in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria, the project will improve diagnostics, increase our understanding of bacteria and transmission mechanisms between humans, animals and the environment (One Health), and develop diagnostic-therapeutic algorithms to optimise treatments. The novel approach will be implemented in a clinical trial to assess how it can improve treatment of severe infections due to MDR GNB.

The ComBac-Africa consortium is led by Saarland University and coordinated by Prof Sören Becker. It brings together partners from several African and European countries, including Obafemi Awolowo University, the Centre for Malaria and other Tropical Disease Care, and Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi in Nigeria; Ministerio da Saúde Pública in Guinea-Bissau; Institut Pasteur de Côte d’Ivoire and the Fondation pour le Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire; GARDP Africa NPC in South Africa; Instituto Piaget in Portugal; LINQ management GmbH in Germany; the GARDP Foundation and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Switzerland.

“Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria is a major healthcare threat, and infections caused by resistant pathogens are responsible for excess morbidity and mortality. Thus far, antimicrobial resistance has not been comprehensively studied in the Global South. Improving microbiological diagnostics and providing tailored access to recently developed antibiotics will be an important contribution to reduce the disease burden caused by multi-resistant pathogens in Africa,” explains project coordinator Prof Sören Becker.

Antibiotic resistance is now a major public health problem in both northern and southern countries. Its impact in terms of the number of deaths per year is constantly increasing in sub-Saharan countries. This new project is an opportunity to effectively address this challenge, which if not resolved will result in disaster in many Southern countries without substantial health revenues. The Swiss Centre for Scientific Research is enthusiastic about participating in this project that will bring together innovative approaches implemented by renowned researchers (Prof Koudou Benjamin, Principal Investigator of the project at CSRS)..

About ComBac-Africa

 ComBac-Africa is a 48-month project funded by the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking that builds on the first and second European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) programmes. This new joint undertaking is a partnership between the EU and the EDCTP Association, whose members are several European and African countries. Together, this partnership seeks to improve the management of severe infections due to multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria in Africa and combat antimicrobial resistance through diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship on the continent.