ANRS "Covid-19 Sud" call for projects: 7 projects from Montpellier selected
7 projects co-led by teams from Montpellier selected in the call for proposals for the ANRS " Covid-19 Sud " to provide emergency support for Covid-19 research in countries with limited resources.
In April 2020, ANRS (the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis) launched a call for projects to provide emergency support for research into the COVID-19 epidemic "in resource-limited countries." Each project had to involve a partnership between at least one research team based in the Global South and a French team. Of the 92 responses received, 32 projects were selected for a total grant of €6.1 million. Among the winning projects, seven were proposed by research teams that are members of the MUSE consortium.
Following the publication of these results, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, first welcomed the strong mobilization of researchers in response to the Covid-19 epidemic. Furthermore, " with these seven winning projects out of 32, Montpellier's research demonstrates the quality of its scientific collaborations with countries in the Global South, particularly on issues related to human health, where it undoubtedly occupies a privileged position." These partnerships are fundamental to overcoming a global health crisis.
This call for projects has a budget of €14.5 million for 86 selected projects.
MIVEGEC (UM, IRD, CNRS)
- Epidemiological situation, risks of COVID-19 spreading in Central Africa, and the contribution of rapid point-of-care testing (COVIDCent study) in partnership with the National Public Health Laboratory (Brazzaville, Republic of Congo). The project is led by Avelin AGHOKENG FOBANG and Fabien Roch NIAMA.
- Epidemiological investigation of SARS-CoV-2 in Laos using a One-Health approach in partnership with the Christophe Mérieux Infectious Disease Center in Laos. The project is led by Eric LEROY and Phimpha PABORIBOUNE.
TransVIHMi (UM, IRD, Inserm)
- Prevalence of COVID-19 among young children hospitalized with severe pneumonia or severe acute malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, in partnership with MUJHU Research Collaboration Philippa MUSOKE (Uganda). The project is led by Maryline BONNET and Eric WOBUDEYA.
- Prevalence, genetic diversity, and geographic distribution of coronaviruses in wild bats to assess the risk of future zoonotic transmission, in partnership with the Guinea Center for Research Training in Infectious Diseases. The project is led by Martine Peeters and Alpha KEITA.
- Community mobilization and socio-health issues in the face of COVID-19 (Senegal, Burkina Faso) in partnership with the Center for Research Training on HIV and Associated Diseases (Dakar, Senegal). The project is led by Alice DESCLAUX and Khoudia SOW.
- Dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Conakry, Guinea (COVEPIGUI) in association with the Guinea Center for Research Training in Infectious Diseases. The project is led by Jean-François ETARD and Abdoulaye TOURE.
Pathogenesis and control of chronic PCCI infections (UM, Inserm, EFS)
- Assessment of the impact of measures to combat the COVID-19 epidemic on HIV and HCV risk behaviors and on access to prevention and care for injecting drug users in Hai Phong, Vietnam (DRIVE-COVID) in partnership with the Faculty of Public Health DUONG Thi Huong (Vietnam). The project is led by Delphine RAPOUD and Thi Giang HOANG.
These seven projects complement the list of six projects already selected during the ANR's Flash call ( on the main or supplementary list):
- DigEpi Digital epidemiology: analysis of social networks to anticipate the level of local transmission of COVID-19 in French urban areas led by Benjamin ROCHE (MIVEGEC: UM, IRD, CNRS)
- ProteoCOVID Clinical proteomics of the SARS-CoV2 Spike protein to optimize its detection and the development of serological tests led by Sylvain LEHMANN (IRMB: UM, Inserm, Montpellier University Hospital)
- ZooCov Towards the establishment of an integrated surveillance system for Betacoronaviruses in the bush meat sector in Cambodia led by Véronique CHEVALIER – Performance of tropical production and processing systems (Persyst: CIRAD)
- Alpha-COV Implementation of a rapid and reliable test for high-throughput screening of antiviral molecules active against SARS-CoV-2 led by Sébastien NISOLE – (Montpellier Research Institute: UM, CNRS)
- CONFINOBS Compliance with and observation of barrier measures and lockdown, a behavioral economics approach led by Marc WILLINGER (Center for Environmental Economics – Montpellier: UM, CNRS, INRAE, MSA)
- PHYEPI Integration of sequence and incidence data to analyze and control viral epidemics led by Samuel ALIZON (MIVEGEC: UM, IRD, CNRS)