Recent advances in science and technology underscore the need to promote utilization of common resources and facilities especially for tropical disease research in disease endemic countries (DECs). Many DECs have developed cutting-edge expertise in different research areas relevant to TDR target diseases. However, this potential has not been fully exploited because of lack of opportunities to share information and complementary expertise among institutions in DECs.

The South-South Initiative for Tropical Disease Research (SSI) was designed to facilitate sharing of resources among research groups in Latin America, Asia and Africa in order to increase competitiveness and optimize scientific opportunities. The SSI was introduced in March 2001 in Harare, Zimbabwe, on behalf of the Committee of Pathogenesis and Applied Genomics (PAG) of TDR, to harness the diverse research and training capability in DECs.