TDR: A time to live

摘要

We thank The Lancet (April 28, p 1562)1 for drawing attention to recent activities at TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases. As the new Director, I was encouraged to see that I was presiding over a christening and not a funeral. But as you rightly point out, despite its proud history, TDR has recently faced the challenges of the global financial crisis and of maintaining identity in a complex diaspora. As your Editorial highlights, though, there is still a real need for an organisation such as TDR to take advantage of its UN position and co-sponsorship by UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank, and WHO to forward an agenda on health research for diseases of poverty.