New Lepra campaign urges Government not to forget leprosy in funding programme
Melanie May | 6 February 2018 | News
Lepra has launched a campaign asking the Government to include leprosy in a new funding programme aimed at fighting tropical diseases.
At an event hosted by Lord Gadhia at the House of Lords on 30 January, Lepra urged the UK Government to include the condition in the new Accelerating Sustainable Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ASCEND) funding call, and in particular leprosy in India where the majority of cases are seen.
The meeting, held in support of World Leprosy Day, was attended by senior parliamentarians, faith leaders, government officials, and aid and health experts. Lepra invited attendees to join the campaign to urge MPs to push leprosy up the agenda and ensure it is included in all future neglected tropical disease funding.
The proposed ASCEND programme will be funded by the Department for International Development and is currently expected to focus on five major neglected tropical diseases: trachoma, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis and visceral leishmaniasis.
Geoff Prescott, Chief Executive at Lepra, said:
“Leprosy is an avoidable, tragic disease which affects millions of people in the developing world, yet it has been largely forgotten by the UK. It was wonderful to bring so many different communities together at the House of Lords to help bring this disease, and the people it affects, to the forefront of the national consciousness and in front of the UK government.
“In order to achieve the Sustainable Development goals and ensure we ‘leave no one behind’ leprosy has to be included in future funding from DFID in full. Without a unified approach from NGOs, governments, the health sector, and communities, leprosy will remain one of the most neglected of neglected tropical diseases.”
According to World Health Organisation, more than 200,000 new cases of leprosy are detected and diagnosed each year and reported cases in India are at a 10-year high. However, medication that can cure the disease, Multi Drug Therapy, is available free of charge to leprosy patients in all endemic countries.
Advertisement
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.