FTC until 31st March 2025

Launched in 2016, the UK-PHRST is an innovative government-academic partnership funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and co-led by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), with a consortium of academic and implementing partners in the UK and internationally. It is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of public health professionals and researchers with a novel integrated triple-remit of outbreak response, research and capacity strengthening to prevent and control epidemics of infectious diseases in countries eligible for UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). Both institutes contribute and are responsible for delivery of the UK-PHRST triple mandate across outbreak response, research and capacity strengthening, with UKHSA who lead the outbreak response.

The UK-PHRST has the following objectives:

1. Support partners in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) to prepare for, prevent, detect, and respond rapidly to disease outbreaks, with the aim of stopping a public health threat from becoming a health emergency

2. Identify research questions with partners and deliver rigorous research with partners that improves the evidence base for best practice in disease outbreak prevention, detection, and response in LMICs

3. Support the strengthening of in-country capacity for an improved and rapid national response to prepare for, prevent, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks