Highlights
22 February 2024
“I hope this meeting will provide all the motivation and inspiration necessary for starting the process of country assessment of interruption of transmission and elimination of leprosy”, said Robb Butler, Director of WHO/Europe’s Division of Communicable Diseases, Environment and Health, in his address to the meeting.
The 2-day meeting updated the participants on new insights and recent developments to efficiently contribute to leprosy elimination as part of the WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2021–2030, a constituent of the roadmap for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030. This will accelerate actions towards achieving the goal of zero leprosy, in line with Sustainable Development Goal target 3.3.
Further, the participants discussed the current epidemiology of the disease, identified challenges and opportunities that countries need to consider in the verification process of interrupting leprosy transmission and its elimination.
In her opening remarks, Dr Stela Bivol, the Unit Lead of Joint Infectious Diseases at the Division of Communicable Diseases, Environment and Health at WHO/Europe, commented, “WHO recognizes countries with a very low burden of leprosy that have achieved the status of elimination. However, leprosy knows no borders and is still with us in the WHO European Region. Improved surveillance and clinical capacity along with fighting stigma put the goal of leprosy elimination in Europe within our reach.”
Dr Vivek Lal, Team Leader of the WHO Global Leprosy Programme, highlighted the new developments outlined in the Global Leprosy Programme, introduced the Global Leprosy Strategy, and set out the new paradigm for leprosy elimination.
The meeting triggered valuable networking between the key stakeholders. The participants discussed various aspects of leprosy disease, giving particular importance to overcoming the stigma and discrimination issues linked to this disease. Country experts shared their experiences in addressing leprosy in the context of their national health-care systems.
“This regional consultation is very important for strengthening partnerships between national leprosy elimination programmes, civil societies, research institutes and funding agencies. I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Government of Armenia for hosting this important event,” commented Dr Marthe Everard, Special Representative of the WHO Regional Director to Armenia.
The significance of this event was further highlighted by Dr Stela Bivol in her concluding remarks, “I am convinced that everyone who participated in this meeting left feeling reconnected to a community of professionals, and with a renewed drive and clarity on the pathway to elimination of leprosy.”
The consultation reached an agreement for better intercountry collaboration and coordination of actions to start the process of verification of elimination of leprosy disease in the WHO European Region, ensuring that no one is left behind.
Event notice
28–29 November 2023 | Yerevan, Armenia
Representatives of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan within the WHO European Region, along with ministries, health professionals, donors, and civil society, will meet at a regional consultation on new paradigms in leprosy: towards interruption of transmission and elimination of leprosy disease in Europe. The consultation, organized by WHO/Europe, will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, on 28–29 November 2023, to discuss these perspectives and identify viable solutions towards achieving zero leprosy in Europe.
WHO Member States are in the process of eliminating leprosy, in line with the Global Leprosy Strategy 2021–2030, along with other neglected tropical diseases, in accordance with the roadmap for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030.
Several countries have already started working with WHO to verify that they have eliminated leprosy. Ensuring that these countries retain the capacity to diagnose and treat cases of leprosy is an important part of the collaborative work with WHO to successfully eliminate the disease. Cases could still occur, especially in vulnerable groups such as migrants, and must be identified and treated swiftly to maintain elimination status.
The new Leprosy Elimination Framework and the latest WHO technical guidance make the verification process of leprosy elimination more feasible to complete.