The Leprosy Mission’s international director, Brent Morgan, has invited Australians to join him on the journey to end leprosy within a generation.
“Many problems we face in the world will be with us for generations to come,” he reflects.
“We know what needs to be done to defeat leprosy; we just need the funds to do it.”
TLM’s new Global Strategy, launched in November, sets clear goals to galvanise the fight to end leprosy over the next six years.
To achieve its deliberately ambitious goals of zero transmission, zero disability and zero discrimination, TLM aims to raise £60 million a year between 2025 and 2030, representing a 50 per cent increase from 2023 to 2030.
With fundraising breakthroughs needed to develop the evidence-based tools needed to wipe out leprosy, Mr Morgan said: “It is important that we have a compelling reason for individuals, churches and other organisations to support the work we do.
“That compelling reason, I believe, is that we are getting much closer to seeing our Triple Zero goals achieved. Defeating one of the oldest diseases known to humankind is an inspiring goal, and I hope that we can inspire others to join us in this quest.”
He adds that for a disease that has been around for so long, it is very encouraging that these goals are much closer to being achieved than ever before.
Mr Morgan said a key obstacle TLM faces is that most people don’t realise that leprosy still exists.
“This is even the case in countries like India, which has the highest number of leprosy cases in the world. So, I think that the biggest issue is awareness,” he said.
Mr Morgan said it was important for TLM to have a new Global Strategy to allow all member countries to align behind key priorities collectively.
“Resources are finite so we need to choose the priorities where we believe we can have the greatest impact and move us closer to our global vision of Leprosy Defeated and Lives Transformed.”
Collaboration with organisations of persons affected by Leprosy (OPLs) is seen as a key ingredient in developing and implementing the breakthroughs needed to create a world without leprosy.
“It is important that we work closely with leprosy persons organisations and strengthen them as best we can so that they are able to self-advocate for their rights, and our new Global Strategy specifically focuses on this. We also need to continue our efforts to ensure that the 140 remaining laws across the world that actively discriminate against leprosy are removed as quickly as possible,” he explains.
TLM has established taskforces of leading minds worldwide for each of the four breakthroughs it seeks to make. Research is needed to develop evidence-based tools to interrupt local transmission of the M. leprae, bacteria, especially early diagnostic tests and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
To achieve the zero-disability goal, its taskforce will focus on researching, developing, and implementing appropriate treatment regimens to address leprosy-related complications, especially treating leprosy reactions and providing better care for inner wellbeing.
The goal is to ensure that persons affected by leprosy will have prompt and appropriate access to services to prevent and manage leprosy disabilities in the countries where TLM works by 2035.
“We have chosen to focus our efforts here because we believe the paucity of currently available treatments is an injustice for persons affected by leprosy, something that leaders from Organisations of Persons Affected by Leprosy (OPLs) expressed to us when we consulted them on the development of this strategy,” according to an article by the working group that organised the strategy.
“These taskforces will be central to developing and maintaining momentum towards the breakthroughs we need to achieve in order to accomplish our goals.”
The strategy also emphasises supporting and partnering with OPLs to increase awareness and end discrimination so that people affected by leprosy have equal access to their full rights and entitlements.
The stigma and discrimination around this ancient disease is perhaps the final frontier in this fight.
Mr Morgan believes the best approach to get past the way leprosy presents and is often portrayed is to personalise/humanise it as much as possible, for example, through case studies with individuals and what having leprosy means for them and how it affects their lives.
“This could mean separation from family and community, not being able to go to school, not being able to get a job, being divorced because of their leprosy. Personal stories behind all the statistics seem to get more traction and interest. The fact that leprosy still exists and that these types of things are still happening often surprises people,” he says.
