The UK public health rapid support team: a novel programme integrating outbreak response, operational research, and capacity building

The 2013–16 epidemic of Ebola virus disease underscored the shortcomings of the international community to both respond to outbreaks and conduct critical research in complex humanitarian crises. To address these concerns, the UK Government has formed the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK- PHRST). The UK-PHRST is a collaboration between Public Health England and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with the University of Oxford and Kings College London as academic partners. The UK-PHRST has a novel triple mandate to work in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to:

• Respond to outbreaks
• Conduct innovative operational research during and between outbreaks to generate evidence on best practices
• Build LMIC and regional capacity for outbreak response