The Coalition for Equitable ResearCh in Low-resource sEttings (CERCLE), previously COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition, aims to advance research driven by the needs of people in low-resource settings around the world.

The Coalition was co-launched by DNDi in April 2020 to help fast-track COVID-19 research on prevention, diagnosis, and case management specifically in low-resource settings.

Over the next two years, the Coalition’s research and advocacy activities grew rapidly, attracting over 800 new members. During this period, the Coalition established 13 working groups to address different research priorities related to the COVID-19 response, organized 28 webinars, 5 jointly coordinated workshops, initiated multiple funded projects led by the working groups, and published 16 articles in high-impact journals.

In 2023, members of the Coalition decided to expand the Coalition’s scope beyond COVID-19 to tackle obstacles impeding equitable research driven by the needs of people in low-resource settings. CERCLE brings together more than 900 scientific organizations and individuals from 98 countries to lead, plan, and participate in research and advocacy projects centered on infectious diseases of epidemic and pandemic potential, as well as antimicrobial resistance.