New Partnership to Achieve Zero Leprosy

Ahead of World Leprosy Day on Sunday 28 January 2018, several leading leprosy organisations have joined forces to launch a Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy to accelerate progress towards a world without leprosy. Swiss TPH was involved in the creation of the partnership, representing the scientific community. The Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy brings together organisations including the Novartis Foundation, the International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations (ILEP), the International Association for Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement (IDEA), national leprosy programmes as well as academic institutions and is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The secretariat for the partnership will be hosted by the Task Force for Global Health in Decatur, GA, USA. Peter Steinmann, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), represented the scientific community in the creation of this novel partnership. New momentum to fight a biblical disease "The Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy adds momentum to global efforts to end discrimination of persons affected by leprosy and to reach zero transmission and the eventual elimination of this age-old disease," said Dr. Erwin Cooreman, Team Leader of WHO's Global Leprosy Programme. The Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy will coordinate action in three key areas, namely (1) accelerating research in new diagnostic and therapeutic tools, interventions and strategies to interrupt leprosy transmission; (2) mobilising technical assistance and expertise to strengthen existing national programmes and accelerate translation of new evidence into action; and (3) increasing advocacy and fundraising.