Elimination of Leprosy as a Public Health Problem

This report is submitted in compliance with resolution WHA44.9, whereby the Health Assembly in May 1991 requested the Director-General to keep the Executive Board and the Health Assembly informed of the progress made in attaining the global elimination of leprosy as a public health problem (prevalence below one case per 10 000 population) by the year 2000. As a result of this resolution, significant progress has been made throughout the world. Political commitment has increased in most endemic countries, as has support from national and international nongovernmental arid other organizations. The resolution has been translated into national, regional and global strategies. Training programmes have been strengthened, especially in the field of management at district levelNew initiatives stemming from health systems research have provided support to endemic countries in solving site-specific operational problems. Special attention has been given to monitoring and evaluating implementation of the elimination strategy. Prevention of physical disabilities has become an integral component of many control programmes. The expansion of programme coverage and wider application of multidrug therapy, as recommended by WHO since the resolution, has resulted in a 49% reduction in global prevalence, with the cumulative coverage of multidrug therapy reaching 85.5%. The cumulative number of cases cured with such therapy rose from 1.2 to 4.3 million.