Leprosy conference gets underway in Bangkok

The summit is being organised by the World Health Organisation and the Nippon Foundation.

Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, regional director of WHO Southeast Asian office, said at the opening ceremony that the challenge is to sustain the quality of leprosy services and to ensure that all persons affected by leprosy, wherever they live, have an equal opportunity to be diagnosed early and treated by competent health workers.

“While we’ve covered a lot of ground in reducing the disease burden in all endemic countries, there is no room for complacency. The final battle against leprosy is yet to be won,” he said.

The multidrug therapy developed in the 1980s has effectively cured 16 million people over the past 20 years. But in many countries where the disease is endemic, new casedetection rates have been either static or showing increases. Globally, every two minutes, a new case of leprosy is detected and seven out of every 10 cases is a child. Misinformation about leprosy is common and the disease continues to be shrouded in stigma with communities shunning patients even after they are cured.

Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, cautioned that the remaining challenges are becoming increasingly more difficult and complex.

“The target populations are living in difficult to reach areas such as urban slums, border areas and ethnic minority areas. Moreover, available resources in each country have declined,” Sasakawa said.

He called on all parties involved to make political commitments and contribute resources and expertise to the fight against leprosy. To this end the Nippon Foundation will be committing US$20 million for the next five years, Sasakawa announced.

The summit will adopt “The Bangkok Declaration,” to recognise that further work needs to be done and to reaffirm the WHO’s and its partners’ resolve to achieve a leprosy-free world.