The Royal Veterinary College has launched a new Global Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, expanding the international reach of a programme tackling diseases affecting more than 1 billion people worldwide.

The Global Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research (GCNTDR) succeeds the London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, which operated from 2013 to 2025. Hosted by the RVC, the new centre will broaden its focus on international collaboration, equitable partnerships and research into neglected tropical diseases and neglected zoonotic diseases.

A key element of the centre's work will be its One Health approach, recognising the links between human, animal and environmental health. Its expanded remit will also include antimicrobial and anthelmintic resistance and their implications for efforts to control neglected diseases.

The centre was announced by its director, professor Joanne Webster, during the 2026 International Congress of Parasitology in Montreal.

Despite their name, neglected tropical diseases are a major global health challenge, affecting more than one billion people. Significant gaps remain in areas including diagnostics, surveillance and treatment, while the World Health Organization's 2021-2030 roadmap has set targets for their control, elimination and, where possible, eradication.

The new centre will support institutions and researchers working on neglected tropical disease research internationally, with an executive board bringing together scientists and clinicians from the UK, India, Senegal and the US.

Webster said the launch marked "the beginning of an exciting new chapter", bringing together expertise, partnerships and innovation to support capacity building and develop One Health solutions.

She added that changing environmental conditions and increasing global interconnectedness were altering the challenges posed by neglected diseases.

"Neglected tropical diseases are no longer confined to the world's poorest and most remote communities," she said. "In an era of climate change, environmental disruption, and increasing global interconnectedness, their impact is evolving in ways that demand greater scientific understanding and international collaboration."

Professor Stuart Reid, president and principal of the RVC, said the expansion reflected the growing importance of the One Health approach in tackling pathogens in rapidly changing ecosystems.

The centre has received philanthropic funding to support its expanded activities. An event marking its launch is planned at the RVC in December 2026.