UNIVERSITY OF ANTANANARIVO

Their core work

The University of Antananarivo is Madagascar's principal research university, contributing to international scientific programs spanning tropical health, soil science, and atmospheric research. Their most significant H2020 involvement is in vaccine development against schistosomiasis — a parasitic disease endemic to sub-Saharan Africa — where they serve as a clinical trial site. They also bring expertise in tropical agricultural soils and provide ground-level research infrastructure for projects requiring data collection in the Indian Ocean region.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Early H2020 participation (2015–2017) was broad and exploratory — atmospheric science infrastructure, ethnographic social research, and agricultural soil science with modest funding. A clear shift occurred around 2019 with the VASA vaccine project, which accounts for over 90% of their total EU funding and signals a move toward tropical disease clinical research. The university appears to be transitioning from a general-purpose southern hemisphere research partner to a focused clinical trial site for neglected tropical diseases.

Moving toward clinical health research on neglected tropical diseases, where their geographic location and patient population access give them irreplaceable value as a trial site.

How they like to work

The University of Antananarivo exclusively participates as a partner or third party — they have never coordinated an H2020 project. They operate within large international consortia (54 unique partners across 29 countries), suggesting they are sought out for their specific geographic and contextual expertise rather than driving project design. Working with them means accessing Madagascar-based research capabilities within a well-established framework of international collaboration.

Despite only 4 projects, they have worked with 54 partners across 29 countries — an unusually wide network driven by participation in large multi-partner consortia. Their partnerships span Europe, Africa, and beyond, with no single geographic cluster dominating.

What sets them apart

As Madagascar's leading university, they offer something few European institutions can: direct access to tropical disease populations for clinical trials, tropical soil and climate data, and on-the-ground research capacity in the Indian Ocean region. For any consortium needing a credible African partner with experience in EU project administration, they are one of very few Malagasy institutions with a track record in Horizon 2020. Their VASA involvement demonstrates capacity to handle substantial clinical research funding.

Highlights from their portfolio

• VASA
  By far their largest project (EUR 864K, 91% of total funding) — a Phase I clinical vaccine trial against schistosomiasis, positioning the university as a key African clinical trial site.
• CIRCASA
  International coordination project on soil carbon sequestration in agriculture, where Madagascar's tropical soils provide unique research conditions unavailable in Europe.