ACCELERATING THE SUSTAINABLE CONTROL AND ELIMINATION OF NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES PROGRAMME (ASCEND): CALL FOR REGISTRATION FOR POTENTIAL IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS

Accelerating the Sustainable Control and Elimination of NTDs (ASCEND) is a £200 million investment from the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID) to advance the impact and sustainability of national programmes tackling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), to be implemented between September 2019 & March 2022.

ASCEND comprises 2 lots. Lot 1: South Asia, East & Southern Africa, Lot 2: West & Central Africa.

ASCEND Lot 1 is implemented by a consortium of technical partners led by Crown Agents, including Abt Associates, Oriole Global Health & the Royal Tropical Institute. Central to ASCEND 1's approach is close collaboration with National Governments and other implementing partners in order to enhance national approaches to NTD control and elimination. ASCEND's goal is to contribute to the global goal of reducing the burden of targeted NTD's so that they are no longer a public health problem.

ASCEND Lot 1 has a fund to deliver services to achieve the objectives of the programme. Services required will include:

• Mass Drug Administrations using drugs procured by ASCEND or donated
• Morbidity management and disability prevention including eyelid surgeries, hydrocele surgeries & treatment and self-care guidance
• Development of diagnostic & treatment capacity
• Strengthening of disease surveillance systems including carrying out surveys
• Behaviour change activities and communications

Crown Agents as lead implementer of ASCEND invites organisations with experience in delivery of one or more of the above services to register their interest in providing services to ASCEND. Organisations may register their interest to work in one or more of the focus countries. Registration is open to any type of organisation, large or small, commercial (for profit) firms, faith based and non-profit organisations. Nonetheless, ASCEND encourages partnership with local, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), faith-based organisations (FBOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) in order to build local capacity and ensure long term sustainability, however this is not a requirement.

Implementing partners will normally be selected through an open competitive process. Details of relevant open processes will be notified to those organisations who have registered and will also be published at the following website: https://www.crownagents.com/projects/accelerating-the-sustainable-control-and-elimination-of-neglected-tropical-diseases-ascend-information-portal/ascend-project-procurement-notices/