TARGETS
Team for Applied Research Generating Effective Tools and Strategies for Communicable Disease Control
Communicable Diseases in Context
The health MDGs can only be achieved if there is a major improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of the world's most important communicable diseases. Effective interventions are available for most of these diseases, what is lacking is coverage and access for those most in need.
This task is complicated by contextual changes such as economic instability, urbanisation, population displacement and health sector reforms, which are changing the nature, magnitude and composition of vulnerable groups. Meanwhile, the capacity of the health system to respond to these challenges is compromised by a range of factors including the spread of drug resistance.
Research undertaken by members of the TARGETS Consortium is contributing to a reduction in the burden of communicable diseases such as Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS. The Consortium encompasses over 120 projects and provides core funding for researchers at seven partner institutions worldwide.
Four themes, all concerned with the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of communicable diseases, unite key elements of our research programme.
Themes
The Process and Impact of taking Interventions to Scale
To investigate how preventative, diagnostic and therapeutic tools for the control of communicable disease can be scaled-up most effectively in diverse settings.
Defining and Understanding Vulnerability
To understand the interactions between communicable disease and factors such as gender, age, livelihood and environment, and the implications for disease control.
New and Improved Strategies and Tools
To assess the acceptability, effectiveness, adaptability and cost-effectiveness of new tools and intervention strategies for communicable disease control.
Monitoring and Evaluation
To develop and apply new approaches and tools for monitoring and evaluating the impact, cost-effectiveness and sustainability of communicable disease programmes and delivery mechanisms.