Neglected tropical disease elimination is a relay race – let’s not drop the baton

This editorial provides the backdrop to an International Health special supplement on lessons from the Ascend West and Central Africa programme.

The Ascend programme was UK Aid’s flagship initiative to tackle five neglected tropical diseases in 13 countries. The programme was implemented by a consortium of partners led by Sightsavers, along with the SCI Foundation, Mott MacDonald and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

This editorial highlights the importance that UK Aid investment had in strengthening the capacity and resilience of national and regional health systems to control the spread of infectious diseases and eliminate them as public health problems.

You can read all the papers in this special supplement on the International Health website.