(UK) DNDi Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative EDCTP European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership EPI Expanded Programme on Immunization ERR economic rate of return EVIPNet Evidence-Informed Policy Network FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FIND Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics FIOCRUZ Oswaldo Cruz Foundation GAELF Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation GBS general budget support GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit Global Fund Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria GREP The Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme GSPOA Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property HHVI Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative IAVI International AIDS Vaccine Initiative ICMR Indian Council of Medical Research IMF International Monetary Fund IPM International Partnership for Microbicides LMICs low and middle-income countries MDG Millennium Development Goal Introduction Global Report for Research on Infectious Diseases of Poverty 6 abbreviations 7 MPI Multidimensional Poverty Index MDR-TB multidrug-resistant TB MEXT Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology MMV Medicines for Malaria Venture MPI Multidimensional Poverty Index MRC Medical Research Council (UK) NCD noncommunicable disease NGO nongovernmental organizations NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council NIH National Institutes of Health (USA) NTD neglected tropical disease OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ORS oral rehydration salts OTEP Oral Therapy Extension Programme PATH Program for Appropriate Technology in Health PEPFAR President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (USA) PDP product development partnership PPP public–private partnership RBM Roll Back Malaria R&D research and development SARS severe acute respiratory syndrome SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation SWAps sector-wide approaches TB tuberculosis TB Alliance The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development TDR The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases TREES Tropical Ecosystem Environment Observation by Satellites TRIPS trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development XDR-TB Extensively drug-resistant TB Introduction Global Report for Research on Infectious Diseases of Poverty 9 Summary Infectious diseases remain key agents of the debilitating poverty afflicting so much of the world today. Each year these diseases kill almost 9 million people, many of them children under five, and they also cause enormous burdens through life-long disability. Stepping up research into their causes and how to effectively treat them and prevent them from spreading could have an enormous impact on efforts to lift people out of poverty and to build a better world for future generations. The Global Report for Research for Infectious Diseases of Poverty is an independent publication comprising different viewpoints written by expert authors in each chapter. It was initiated and facilitated by TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, supported by the European Commission, and based on wide contributions from stakeholders at various stages of the work. It offers new ways of improving public health in low and middle income countries, with research as the compelling foundation and driver for policies. The first chapter sets the context and outlines ten areas where research on infectious diseases of poverty can make major improvements; these form the framework for the rest of the report. The next three chapters take these ten areas forward by focusing on specific themes: the environment, health systems, and innovation and technology. A fifth chapter discusses the research funding landscape while the final sixth chapter considers the issues and evidence presented in the rest of the report to propose high level actions,