Neglected Tropical Diseases - Support Center (NTD-SC).

Based at the Task Force for Global Health in Decatur, Georgia, USA, and affiliated with Emory University, the Neglected Tropical Diseases Support Center (NTD-SC) coordinates with partners to address NTD community challenges that prevent programs from effectively scaling up, successfully scaling down, and ensuring the sustainability of reductions in disease prevalence through implementing the operational research agenda for these diseases.

Founded in early 2013, NTD-SC is supported principally by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Their funding enables the Center to work together with the NTD community in addressing priority research needs for NTDs to guide decision-making and optimize disease surveillance.

By building on existing research activities the NTD-SC takes advantage of synergies to achieve rapid progress in the response to new technical challenges as they arise. Through a highly collaborative project structure – which includes the convening of a “Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs” (COR-NTD) – NTD researchers can create a forum where operational needs can be identified, research work can be undertaken together, and technical advances made to maximize the impact of national programs targeting NTDs.