The
Department for International Development (DFID) has supported research
programmes at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
since 1990. The Malaria Programme ran from 1990 to 2005 and the
TB Programme from 1995-2006. This long term support has helped to
build strong teams of researchers in Malaria
and TB
both in the UK as well as with partners and institutions in other
parts of the world. Capacity building and applied research have
been important themes within both programmes.
The current
DFID Communicable Disease Programme (TARGETS) has been created
through the integration and amalgamation of staff and projects from
previous Malaria and TB Programmes. In the creation of the current
programme, DFID has asked the RPCs to focus on DFIDs current research
and policy priority - poverty and vulnerability. The competitive
process laid down by DFID for its RPCs has provided an opportunity
for the Malaria and TB groups to work together. Although the individual
teams continue to work within targeted specific disease interventions,
they come together to address the broad themes of poverty and vulnerability
within the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This happens
through the logframe focus on the knowledge generated outputs of:
1) scaling up of communicable disease programmes; 2) new tools and
strategies for disease control; 3) vulnerability to disease and
access to health care systems; and 4) monitoring and evaluation.
View
TARGETS poster
