A blueprint for success: integration of neglected tropical disease control programmes

The rapid expansion of chemotherapy-based control programmes for neglected tropical diseases has been catalysed by funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, donations of several drugs from pharmaceutical manufacturers, and the reduced price of the drug praziquantel. Focussing on lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, we review here the progress made to date with the implementation and integration of large-scale control programmes. Unresolved issues include a means for rapid identification of communities at highest risk of co-morbidity, cost-effective approaches for integrating the technical interventions into setting-specific packages, and determination of the most appropriate and sustainable delivery systems.