I welcome all stakeholders to this consultation on the draft Global Leprosy Strategy.
I begin by commending you for your success in accelerating progress towards a leprosy-free world.
In 2019 just over 200 000 new cases of leprosy were detected, which is around 30 000 less compared with 10 years ago.
Given the significant expansion of active case detection, we can be confident that this reduction is not because cases are being missed, but rather because transmission is being reduced.
For example, the number of patients with visible deformities at the time of diagnosis reduced by 33% over the last decade.
Leprosy is increasingly being perceived as a “normal” skin disease that can be treated at the primary level, which is in turn reducing stigma – arguably the greatest impediment to leprosy control, and a source of immense suffering among affected individuals, families and communities.
Our shared success is the result of well-organized national leprosy programmes, the provision of free drugs by Novartis, the support provided by partners such as the International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations, and sustained funding from several donors, particularly The Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Health Foundation.
I am pleased that the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy has consolidated the voice of the global leprosy community, which is united in its quest to realize a leprosy-free world.
To achieve that outcome, and to guide leprosy control efforts for the next decade, the Global Leprosy Programme has over the past one-and-a-half years produced a draft Global Leprosy Strategy, which we are gathered to discuss.
Several iterations of the Strategy have been comprehensively reviewed at a series of WHO-convened meetings, the Twentieth International Leprosy Congress, annual meetings of the NTD NGO Network and other partner-supported events.
I thank all stakeholders for their input on the Strategy, which is aligned with the global NTD Roadmap covering 2021-2030 – the endpoint of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Previous leprosy strategies have focused on control, which was to culminate in the elimination of leprosy as a public health problem at national and sub-national levels.
But this next Strategy is more ambitious, shifting the paradigm towards “zero leprosy”, which includes zero leprosy-related disability and zero discrimination.
The Strategy focuses on achieving sustained reductions in the leprosy burden in high-burden countries, and on interrupting leprosy transmission in countries that currently report few cases, which is to be followed by elimination of the disease.
High-burden countries, therefore, continue to be a priority, in addition to countries that have a very low burden, and which are likely to achieve zero cases in the near future.
The efforts of all stakeholders to bend the epidemiological curve will be accelerated by the advent of a chemoprophylactic tool in the form of single-dose rifampicin, and – hopefully – of an effective vaccine over the tenure of the next Strategy.
But we must continue to harness the evidence-based tools that we know work.
Crucially, the draft Strategy redefines the burden of leprosy to not only include persons in need of treatment, but also persons suffering from the physical and mental health impact of leprosy.
Addressing the social determinants of the disease remains as important as ever.
Distinguished participants,
The emergence and spread of COVID-19 has impacted the regular functioning of disease control programmes across the world, including in countries affected by leprosy.
But it has also forced policy-makers and programme managers to identify and implement innovative ways to adjust to the “new normal”.
Such innovations, if adequately harnessed, could accelerate progress on leprosy targets and goals throughout the recovery and beyond.
E-learning, mHealth and telemedicine in particular hold great potential. So do the many novel ways in which self-care and community-based interventions have been implemented.
As you finalize this Strategy, I urge you to remain forward-thinking and adaptive, and to continue to prioritize and promote the dignity of all people affected by leprosy in your efforts against the disease.
I look forward to being informed about your discussions and to continuing our progress towards achieving a world with zero leprosy and zero leprosy-related disabilities and discrimination.
Thank you.