Preface: Sustained cooperation on research and control of neglected tropical diseases among multisectors and multipartners across borders in Southeast Asia.

This special issue is going to introduce the origins of the "Regional Network on Asian Schistosomiasis (RNAS)" which can be traced back to 1996. RNAS was originally a collaboration of scientists from China and Philippines, and then expanded to Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan and Laos, with focusing on research and control of schistosomiasis japonica. However, at its fifth meeting in Bali, Indonesia in 2005, more countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Korea were brought on board along with a string of neglected tropical diseases such as cysticercosis, clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis and fascioliasis, and RNAS thus became RNAS. We all expected that the progress made so far will be enough to persuade donors to assist RNAS in its current activities and forward movement.