Editorial - Technical Assistance to Tuberculosis Control Programmes as a Platform forInfectious Disease Research

§rather than one-off contractual assignments, to ensure adequate knowledge of the local context and differential needs of the NTP over time. To complement the work of the general TA consultants, KNCV instituted a research unit to accommodate the need for evidence-based solutions to programmatic obstacles. Epidemiologists work in close collaboration with the general TA consultants as well as within the international TB-research community at large. This results in strong research support embedded in the longterm cooperation between NTPs and KNCV. West et al. showed that such a set-up can meet the two critical functions of an ideal TA system: incorporation of in-depth knowledge of the needs of the programme, and continuous evaluation of emerging knowledge and determination of which is relevant to the programmes to which TA is provided [2]. The articles in the Supplement highlight some of the TA activities of KNCV. It brings the TA activities and their results from the “grey” unpublished literature, where the reports most often end up, into the public domain. It also gives insight into the often “concealed” relationship between clinical practise and public health, which is influenced by the effectiveness of NTPs and their TA organizations.