Here at COMDIS-HSD, we’ve been reflecting on our impact and influence in 2017, which began with a 2-year extension to continue some of our work. Our review of 2017 showcases our influence and work in Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Pakistan and Swaziland – I hope you enjoy reading about some of our successes in TB, malaria, antibiotic resistance, gender and open access.
I’d also like to thank all our partners for their great work and support in developing and initiating this work, including, but not restricted to:

• international and government partners for working with us to identify research questions of global importance
• COMDIS-HSD research partners for developing and carrying out the research and working closely with government and other partners
• the team in Leeds for providing research, communication and operational support
• Consortium Advisory Group members for guidance and support
• Colleagues at DFID for providing funding and supporting us in navigating new DFID requirements.

All this input means we have been able to continue to develop and assess strategies that are designed to be appropriate for context, scalable and sustainable, and that over the years have helped improve the health of millions of people in our study countries and beyond.
I am particularly excited by three new areas of work: 1) hepatitis prevention and care; 2) psychosocial support to people with MDR-TB; and 3) improving health care, particularly for communicable diseases, in urban areas. Although time is tight, we aim to deliver findings in these areas that will guide national and disease control programmes and international bodies by providing feasible and practical solutions to these major problems.
I am also delighted to welcome Libby Clark, our newly appointed Consortium Manager, to the team. Libby comes to us with a wealth of programme management experience coupled with a background in gender and development – a great fit for our consortium.
I’d like to end by thanking everyone involved for their continuing support. We look forward to reporting on our impact in these areas of work in 2018.