NTDs cause serious morbidity and disability, affecting 2 billion people in low- and middle-income countries. The main strategy for control of key NTDs is preventive chemotherapy (PC), the regular delivery of drugs to entire communities or specific sub-groups, such as children. PC NTDs of global importance include soil-transmitted helminths, schistosomiasis, scabies, trachoma and yaws. The Kirby’s NTD research group is leading large-scale intervention research linked to novel diagnostics, social science, health economics and mathematical modelling aiming to contribute to the control and elimination of PC NTDs in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. The RG leader will present an overview of that research with examples including cluster randomised control trials in Vietnam, Solomon Islands and Fiji; and impact assessments of PC programs in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Nauru, East Timor and Angola.
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