Reflections on Global Forum on Leprosy Control

At the time of publishing the Global Strategy to Further Reduce the Leprosy Burden, it was envisaged that more detailed operational guidelines would be published to ‘enable countries to develop their own country-specific strategies and plans of action’. The plan was turned into reality (albeit later than anticipated) through a Global Forum on Leprosy Control that met in the University of Aberdeen, Scotland (UK) between 18th and 20th April 2006. The over 500 years old university (one of the oldest ones in the UK), through its Institute of Medical Sciences, has earned a reputation as a pioneer of leprosy research. The meeting brought together the National Leprosy Control Programme Managers of the top leprosy endemic countries of the world (including India, Brazil, Myanmar, Indonesia, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, United Republic of Tanzania among others), members of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Leprosy Control, representatives of the Technical Committee of the International Federation of Leprosy Organizations (ILEP), Staff of the WHO Global Leprosy Programme, and several other leprosy experts. The objective of the Forum was to discuss and agree on the technical contents of a proposed set of Operational Guidelines for implementation of the Global strategy for Leprosy Control 2006–2010. The various national leprosy control programmes would use the guidelines as a basis for developing country specific strategies and guidelines. In line with the goal of the Global Strategy, the discussions and resulting guidelines emphasized measures to further reduce the burden of leprosy as well as providing access to quality leprosy control services within integrated health services. While it is expected that the complete document will be finalized and published later in the year, it is important to put on record some of the important issues debated by the Forum before arriving at consensus on the technical content of the Guidelines. This list (not at all exhaustive), which should serve as an illustration of the background against which various decisions were made, includes: