The Africa Asia Alliance for Clinical Trials (A3CT)

We propose the establishment of the Africa Asia Alliance for Clinical Trials (A3CT)—a collaborative platform to strengthen clinical trial capacity and coordination across Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) embedded within Wellcome’s Major International Programmes (MIPs) in Africa and Asia. LMICs remain underrepresented in global health research and face persistent challenges in delivering cost-effective, high-quality trials. A3CT will address these gaps by harmonizing practices, fostering operational excellence, and building sustainable trial infrastructure led by regional research institutions.The Alliance brings together AHRI, MORU, MLW, KWTRP, and OUCRU to co-develop scalable solutions to shared barriers, including fragmented systems, workforce shortages, and high operational costs. Over four years, the Alliance and it's working groups will implement aligned governance, interoperable IT platforms, shared trial tools, a cross-site monitoring network and tailored workforce training. We will also establish accreditation mechanisms and an evaluation framework to monitor progress and impact.By further developing the CTUs maturity and strengthening institutional readiness, the Alliance seeks to establish an LMIC-led platform for delivering high-impact, efficient, and locally relevant clinical research—driving regional research excellence and attracting a diverse range of funders to enable sustainable growth.