Why a Lymphatic Filariasis Support Centre in Liverpool?

The creation of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine's Lymphatic Filariasis Support Centre was a novel concept in international public health disease centres. The Centre connects academic interests in lymphatic filariasis within an institution with extensive networks of staff and partnerships in endemic countries and provides an environment for postgraduate training tailored to both individual and programme needs.

The Centre was supported initially from 2000-2005 with funds from the Department for International Development (DFID) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Following a successful external review in 2004 the Centre was awarded a further five year contract with its core support funded by both DFID and GSK and its country and operational support provided by DFID. The Centre’s focus for 2005-2010, as a partner in the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF), is to:

• ensure GAELF is operating as an efficient and effective partnership;
• increase country level commitment;
• establish an evidence base to prove that the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic (GPELF) works and disseminate the results, and
• integrate the Programme with other parasitic disease control interventions.

To achieve these objectives the School’s role (based in the Centre) as the Secretariat of the GAELF is key. Also the Centre will work with the endemic countries to strengthen advocacy and provide resources to assist MDA which will leverage other funds and conduct operational research to provide data for the evidence base, maintain and further develop Filaria Journal and filariasis.net (see below) and will work with all partners to advocate integration policies at all levels.

The Centre was also one of five partners of the GAELF to receive funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from 2000-2005. This funding was used to support 13 staff from the LF programmes from endemic countries to attend courses in the School or enter a programme for either PhD or MSc study both in Liverpool and in their own countries; establish a web-based portal providing free access to the lymphatic filariasis knowledge base; develop with the Wellcome Trust and WHO a CD in both English and French “The Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis: An interactive guide for programme managers” for dissemination throughout the whole GPELF and develop the Centre’s involvement in an open access on line journal addressing the biology, infections, disease and control of filariasis, onchocerciasis and guinea worm and develop a communication network for the GPELF.

The concept of a Support Centre is now embedded in the Global Alliance and GPELF - bringing an academic knowledge of related problems to the table, an extensive global network, independence, recognition of health systems and health policy in relation to disease control and the capacity to respond rapidly to country needs if resources permit.

The Centre assists and facilitates the GPELF at country level, works with WHO, supports applied/operational research, has initiated an open access e-journal and ensures quality human resource capacity building for science and public health leadership to bring the GPELF to a successful conclusion.

Other related research within the School is supported by organizations such as the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council (MRC), Leverhulme Trust, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO) hence providing significant leverage for the Centre and linking fundamental research to country programmes. The Centre acts as a focal point for endemic country programmes, partners in international organizations such as WHO and the World Bank, Non-Governmental Development Organizations and other academic institutions.