Research and innovation

Only 3.6% of global clinical trials take place in Africa (clinicaltrials.gov).
Many diseases remain understudied due to a lack of research adapted to local contexts.
About 20% of ALIMA’s work is dedicated to humanitarian medical research.

In the face of health crises and humanitarian challenges, medical research plays a key role in adapting care to real-world conditions. ALIMA bridges the gap between research and humanitarian action to develop innovative solutions and improve the effectiveness of medical interventions in Africa.

Humanitarian context and challenge

A lack of research in humanitarian contexts

Clinical research is essential to improve medical care, yet it remains underdeveloped in low-income countries. This leads to:

A lack of clinical trials adapted to the needs of humanitarian fields.
An insufficient response to emerging epidemics, due to a lack of existing and locally available treatments.
Standardized care protocols are incomplete for certain diseases in Africa.

💡 Why does this matter?

An urgent need for solutions adapted to low-resource contexts.

An essential link between humanitarian action and medical innovation.

An opportunity to sustainably improve the health of vulnerable populations.

📌 Over 50 research projects have been conducted by ALIMA since 2009.
📌 Over 10 ongoing projects, covering infectious diseases, malnutrition, and maternal and child health.

➡️ To address these challenges, ALIMA places research and innovation at the heart of its mission.

ALIMA’s action

💡 How does ALIMA link research and humanitarian action?

ALIMA develops collaborative and operational research projects to improve medical care in emergency contexts.

🔹 CORAL: a unique collaborative research platform

🔬 Launched in 2016, the Clinical and Operational Research Alliance (CORAL) brings together:

ALIMA
Inserm GHiGS (Global Health in the Global South)
PACCI (ANRS Program, Côte d’Ivoire)

🎯 Goal: integrating medical research into humanitarian action in Africa to fight emerging diseases and improve maternal and child health.

🔹Improving malnutrition management

OptiMA (Optimizing the Management of Acute Malnutrition)

Tested in Burkina Faso (2016-2018), OptiMA has proven its effectiveness by simplifying treatment protocols for faster and more accessible care.
The program is being expanded to Niger, Mali, and DRC to treat more children.
MUAC for Mothers: a tool that enables mothers to detect malnutrition early using a simple bracelet to measure their child’s upper arm circumference.

🔹Clinical research on viral hemorrhagic fevers

Response to Ebola outbreaks and other emerging infectious diseases

During the 2018-2019 Ebola outbreak in the DRC, ALIMA, in collaboration with the PALM consortium, helped identify two treatments that reduced mortality rates to less than 20% (compared to up to 90% previously).
Development of innovative solutions such as the CUBE (Biosecure Emergency Room for Epidemics), allowing safe patient care in high-risk environments.

📌 ALIMA is currently leading several studies on emerging infectious diseases to test drugs for Lassa fever (INTEGRATE) or for Ebola post-exposure prophylaxis (IMOVA, EBOPEP).

Our research partners

ALIMA collaborates with many research centers, universities, and health institutions:

🏛 Academic and medical institutions

Inserm – French National Institute for Health and Medical Research
IRD – Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
ISPED – Institute of Public Health, Epidemiology, and Development
ITM – Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
INRB – National Institute for Biomedical Research, DRC

International organizations and research programs

NIH – U.S. National Institutes of Health
ANRS-MIE – French National Agency for Research on Emerging Infectious Diseases
EDCTP – Europe-Developing Countries Partnership for Clinical Trials
ALERRT – African Coalition for Training and Response in Epidemic Research

💊 Clinical research initiatives

PAC-CI – ANRS Program Côte d’Ivoire
DNDi – Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative
Unitaid, GiveWell Foundation, Fondation WAM

Our main ongoing research programs

Wakobo Ti Kodro
Nutrivax Measle
RISQ
OPTIMAX
EBO-PEP
IMOVA
INTEGRATE

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ACTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why is medical research in humanitarian settings crucial?

To adapt care to real-world challenges.
To improve protocols for the management of understudied diseases.
To strengthen responsiveness to emerging epidemics.

What are ALIMA's priority research areas?

Child malnutrition (OptiMA, MUAC for Mothers)
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Lassa)
Maternal and child health & pediatrics (AIRE, Wakobo)

How are these research projects funded?

Through collaborations with international research institutes and funding from organizations such as Unitaid, EDCTP, ANRS-MIE, and the GiveWell Foundation.