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WHO Global Leprosy Strategy agreed for 2011-2015
“Reduction of the rate of new cases with grade-two
disabilities per 100 000 population by at least 35% by the end of 2015,
compared to the baseline at the beginning of 2011” is the new global target
for Leprosy.
 This was decided at the Global Leprosy
Programme Managers’ meeting held at WHO’s South East
Asia Regional Office in New Delhi. The reduction of the number of new cases
with grade-two disability would indicate that leprosy is being detected early
before nerve damage can develop.
Another enhancement agreed at the meeting was to
examine all household contacts of newly detected cases.
Although much has still to be discovered about
infection and transmission of leprosy, the re-introduction of this
examination policy is regarded as a positive step that could have the
potential to detect cases earlier and prevent disabilities. Although the 7th WHO Expert
Committee of June 1997 had recommended that as the household contacts of
leprosy patients are at significantly greater risk of developing leprosy than
contacts who are not living in the same household….”household contacts of the
patient should be examined for evidence of leprosy” . On the whole
implementing this strategy had been limited to date due to ethical
considerations, fear of exacerbating stigma and difficulties in
implementation.
In addition to these enhancements, the Enhanced Global Strategy will be
further boosted by:
 Reinforcement of the humanitarian issues and rights of people affected
by leprosy and absolute assurance of equity and social justice
Rigorous advocacy of the use of more dignifying terminology whenever
talking about or referring to people affected by leprosy.
Stress on the particular needs for improved leprosy control in
underserved areas including urban slums and migrant populations
Highlighting of opportunities to explore public-private partnerships
Assurance of quality clinical services
Training of peripheral health workers so they can refer people
affected by leprosy to the appropriate services according to their personal
needs
 More holistic assessments of the
needs of each person affected by leprosy and to provide appropriate support
under community based rehabilitation.
Promoting further research in the area of chemoprophylaxis for future
use as a control measure and in developing better treatment regimens with
shorter duration of treatment.
Furthermore, during the meeting representative from Novartis Foundation reiterated Novartis’
commitment to providing MDT drugs free of charge for as long as there is
leprosy in the world.
Underpinning the above will be the recommitment to
the main principles of leprosy control outlined in the current strategy and
which will continue to form the basis of the strategy for 2011 – 2015, namely - timely detection of new cases
and their treatment with multi-drug therapy (MDT) and quality patient care
that is equitably distributed, affordable and easily accessible.
A great
deal of serious thought and deliberation, considerable time and effort has
been dedicated to finalising this global leprosy strategy. The interest and
ideas of those who have contributed to this process is evidence of the clear
and continuing commitment to provide quality care for all individuals
affected by leprosy wherever they are in the world, and to build on the
considerable progress already made in reducing the burden of this disease.
The delegates included over 40 National Leprosy
Programme Managers from around the world as well as members of the WHO
Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Leprosy, authoritative experts from both
the international NGO sector and organisations of those affected by leprosy.
In addition, there were individuals from professional leprosy associations, Novartis (provider of free leprosy drugs) and from The
Nippon Foundation (sponsor of the meeting).
Participants had had several opportunities in the
months leading up to this historic Meeting to submit their comments and
feedback on earlier drafts of the Enhanced
Global Strategy for Further Reducing the Disease Burden Due to Leprosy (Plan
Period: 2011 – 2015) and the accompanying Updated Operational Guidelines. Commenting on this widespread
involvement, Mr Douglas Soutar, General Secretary
of ILEP (International Federation of anti Leprosy Associations) congratulated
Dr Vijaykumar Pannikar,
the head of the WHO Global Leprosy Programme noting that, “This multi-sectoral involvement is a fine example of the
consultative approach by WHO which has helped foster ownership of the
strategy by all who will be involved in its implementation up to 2015. It has
built on the collaborative approach that was used to produce the current
strategy (running to the end of 2010)”.
The consultative drafting process meant that the
meeting concentrated on the “enhancements” that had been proposed for
inclusion in the Enhanced Global
Strategy for the five-year period from 2011.
“A world without leprosy” remains the vision of all
partners. Working together the goal
to further reduce the global burden of
leprosy by 2015, in line with the target date of the global Millennium
Development Goals (MDG-6) will be another achievement that all are aiming at.
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