Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a fatal zoonotic disease following ingestion of eggs of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. The eggs develop to larval forms (cysticerci) in various tissues, including those of the central nervous system, leading to NCC, mainly characterized by epileptic seizures. NCC management guidelines have been published by the WHO, however, their uptake in national policies is very limited. In NeuroSolve, we will demonstrate and promote a methodological approach for conducting health research that leads to improved adoption into policy and clinical practise. We will validate the approach by investigating evaluation- and implementation of an antiparasitic combination treatment and a serological test. Two health innovations that can make a major positive contribution to NCC management. The proposed approach includes (1) strengthening of clinical and research capacity through training and mentoring of early career researchers, clinicians and frontline healthcare workers as well as upgrading infrastructure for surveillance and control, (2) demonstrating the improved pragmatic effectiveness of the combined treatment on quality of life (3) evaluating the potential impact of serological testing on the patient outcomes and the wider health system through a simulation study, (4) demonstrating the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of the proposed health technologies, (5) developing and validating an implementation strategy that addresses identified barriers for uptake using the robust implementation frameworks and 6) enhance research results uptake into national and international guidelines and health policy through engagement of relevant policy makers throughout the project period and beyond. If the intended impacts are reached, NeuroSolve will improve health outcomes of NCC patients, provide a blueprint for meaningful implementation research and demonstrate to policy makers how research can strengthen healthcare systems.

A consortium of five organisations – Farafina Institute (Germany), Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy (Ghana), the University of Swaziland (Eswatini), Footprints for Change (Kenya), and the University of Zambia (Zambia) will implement the ‘Training Module for Agents for Social Change through Exchange’ that was developed by the Erasmus+ project ‘EChange’.The implementation of the module empowers youth between 18 and 28 years to become active for the priorities of the Africa-EU partnership, especially for the priority areas ‘Investing in people’ and ‘Strengthening resilience, peace, security and governance'. To facilitate their joint action as a group and with other youth from Europe and Africa, this project will develop a ‘Project Development and Fundraising Tutorial’ that will be added to the online platform ‘Action for Change’ that was also built through EChange. A professional ‘Youth Exchange Documentary’ will be created to document and disseminate the experiences of this project.The project will be implemented by youth organisations and young people from Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Eswatini and Zambia. The whole group will come together in 2 Youth Exchange Mobility Activities (MAs) – one in Kenya and one in Germany.Drawing from the Erasmus+ project EChange, this project recognises that in view of their potentials, youth are key agents to pursue peace, security and governance, but there is need to grow their capacities. Such capacities include:• knowledge (e.g. understanding of the wider context of resilience, peace, security and governance), • motivation (e.g. recognizing the potentials of youth in bringing about change)• tools (e.g. methods of social action),• strategies (e.g. turning ideas into action, project management),• connections with similarly motivated youth for joint action. The analysis of EChange showed that such capacities can be built through the EChange approach.Participants will receive training for these competences and work in groups for the implementation of follow-up projects with the guidance of the participating institutions (PIs) after the end of the project.The project applies a highly participatory approach. Participants and PIs will be included in and contribute to each stage of the project. Strategic meetings will be conducted with the PIs for the exchange of experience and knowledge and networking with other organisations working with youth and the priority topics as part of the Mas and transnational project meetings.The PIs are youth-based organisations, with objectives of youth development and networking as means to the realisation of collective potentials for change. YouNet and UNISWA were partners of the projects ‘EChange’ and ‘Participate’, coordinated by FI.The project will contribute to the three areas of action proposed for a new EU Youth Strategy: Engage, Connect, Empower. These areas fit with the youth policies of the participating countries and of the African Union agenda 2063.

Control of soil transmitted helminths (STH) and Schistosomiasis (SCH) has been part of routine programmes for many years, yet, the efficacy and effectiveness of these programmes is challenged by low and failing drug efficacy and growing concerns of anthelmintic resistance, calling for a revision of the MDA-drug strategies. In this regard, the novel fixed-dose co-formulation (FDC) including albendazole and ivermectin has proven to be safe and to overcome most of the challenges in drug efficacy for STH. For T. solium the situation is very different from STH and SCH as currently there are no countries routinely implementing control. 3SI-CONTROL will assess the safety and cost-effectiveness of the FDC co-administration with praziquantel in reducing the prevalence of T. solium, STH and SCH, in a randomised controlled trial embedded in solid implementation research. Results from 3SI-CONTROL will thereby provide a scientific evidence base on the safety and effectiveness of integration of T. solium control with STH and SCH, considering the One Health approach. Beyond this, the substantial implementation research component will enable bridging the gap between the evidence-based practice (results on safety and effectiveness) and the actual implementation in the routine, real-world setting. These results, joined by a comprehensive dissemination and advocacy plan, will provide leverage to stimulate uptake of T. solium in the existing routine NTD control programmes, enabling the implementation of a safe and integrated control strategy with a higher effectiveness, tackling three top ranking NTDs. By harnessing advanced concepts in One Health, implementation research, and pharmacovigilance, our project aims to deliver transformative impacts in NTD control, reducing the individual, social and economic burdens of resource poor rural populations.

Promoting mental health is one of the main targets of UN´s SDG 2030. It has raised focus on the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases, including children and adolescents mental health disorders, which constitute a major challenge for sustainable development. Keeping young people healthy has a positive impact on productivity and competitiveness, thus new innovations are needed to find new solutions to promote mental health and prevent depression. Half of the mental problems start before the age of 14. The environment has direct and indirect effects on mental health. Environmental influences should be taken more into account with adolescents. Exposure to poor environmental conditions is not randomly distributed and tends to concentrate among the poor and ethnic minorities. We focus more attention on the health implications of multiple environmental risk exposure. The project has concrete outputs: 1) To map the SADC countries landscape related to primary health care workers 2) To develop mobile application of WHO’s mhGAP IG child and adolescent depression part 3) To develop eLearning materials and innovation pedagogy solutions 4) To train the trainers and educate primary health care workers 5) To implement and evaluate the mobile version of mhGAP child and adolescent depression version 6) To disseminate the results on policy, HEI, professional and public 7) To raise knowledge about environmental influence on mental health. The quality, modernization and capacity building of HEIs in SA and Zambia is achieved by introducing innovation pedagogy related to mental health education. As a result the HEIs will be able to reach the Higher Education to the European standards. Our main innovative elements are scaling up a child and adolescent mental health service, developing mhGAP-IG 2.0 mobile application for depression in South-Africa and Zambia and implementing it. Outcomes will benefit health care professionals at local level by increasing their competence.

The main aim of the project Navigating the digital landscape: universities partnering for change (NIAGARA) is to utilize the partnership between universities in Zambia, Tanzania, Poland and Norway to improve and expand information services by developing libraries’ ICT infrastructure and librarians’ digital competencies.The specific objectives of the project are as follows:1. To strengthen the digital infrastructure in partner university libraries in Tanzania and Zambia that will benefit all students and staff and ensure inclusive and equal access to library and information services2. To examine current digital competencies needed for efficient provision of library and information services3. To develop and implement short-term courses The primary target groups are the HEI-librarians and LIS-students in Zambia and Tanzania. Further target beneficiaries are all students and faculty members (including those with fewer opportunities) working in the noted countries. NIAGARA relates strongly to UN SDG4: Quality education and 10: Reduce inequality.NIAGARA is composed of seven work packages (WPs): WP1: Management, WP2: Digital competency assessment, WP3: Education and Research support, WP4: Inclusion and equity, WP5: Infrastructural capacity, WP6: Blended mobility, and WP7: Dissemination and sustainability. Some important outputs are open courses and interactive learning materials on digital competency and data management. Information and outputs will be accessible through the project website and social media.Knowledge gained from the project will be informative for policy makers and leaders in higher education as well as governing bodies in regions that are looking to increase citizens’ digital competencies and even out digital divides. The results will be transferable to other HEIs, library and information science educators, and academic libraries and will contribute to scholarly discussions and research on issues related to open access and accessibility.