The European Commission has published the results of a public consultation on the joint innovation agenda of the EU and African Union (AU).
The agenda is part of the AU-EU policy dialogue on science technology and innovation. The two parties have regular exchanges on research and innovation policy to set out long-term priorities for strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Research stakeholders said the EU and AU should prioritise public health in their innovation agenda. More than 73% of respondents scored public health as “very important”. Scores for the other three priorities were slightly lower.
The four priorities of the green transition; innovation and technology; public health; and science capacities, were agreed during the first AU-EU ministerial meeting in July 2020, paving the way for various networks and partnerships in each area.
The main tools for implementing the priorities are three jointly funded research and innovation partnerships on food and nutrition, climate change, and innovation. Another partnership on public health aims to accelerate development of new and improved medicines against poverty-related infectious diseases.
The full report is available here.
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