01689nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260003400042653005700076653002100133653002800154100001100182700001200193700001500205700001100220700001500231700001600246700001400262700002200276700001300298700001400311245006000325856009300385300001400478490000700492520087500499022002501374       2022                            d  bOxford University Press (OUP)10aPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health10aGeneral Medicine10aHealth (social science)1 aRust J1 aClark A1 aWoodgate M1 aKoch C1 aMohammed T1 aSteinmann P1 aKrentel A1 aTorres-Vitolas CA1 aCarlin A1 aPavluck A00aInnovate to eliminate: a prerequisite in NTD programmes  uhttps://academic.oup.com/inthealth/article-pdf/14/Supplement_2/ii20/45751579/ihac011.pdf  aii20-ii240 v143 a<p>Innovation plays a critical role in progress towards achievement of the World Health Organization's road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030. As disease prevalence decreases, the cost to identify and treat remaining cases goes up. Additionally, as programmes move to the surveillance phase, diagnostic tests need to be highly sensitive and affordable. Until the early end to the Ascend West and Central Africa programme, the Ascend Learning and Innovation Fund supported five projects from 2019 to 2021. Designed for innovation, the fund encompassed a range of activities, including operational research, product development and social behavioural change. This flexibility allowed innovation to bridge the gap between strategic policy and practical implementation, piloting and proving business models to respond to information found through Ascend.</p>
  a1876-3413, 1876-3405