New Partnership to Achieve Zero Leprosy

Swiss TPH 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.(Photo: Screening close contacts of newly diagnosed leprosy patients and providing them with preventive treatment is proving to be an important measure to reduce leprosy cases. © T. Bradley / Novartis Foundation)

• www.swisstph.ch