WHO EURO Consultation Meeting
Dr. Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe, Dr. Ibrahima Soca Fall, Director, Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Dr. Marthe Everard, Special Representative of the WHO Regional Director to Armenia, distinguished guests, and participants.
As we all know, leprosy has been feared as a divine punishment or a curse since the Old Testament times. In medieval Europe, persons who contracted leprosy were given a funeral Mass and thereafter they had to wear a bell to signal their approach, and they were forbidden from entering churches.
But in the face of this dark and desperate situation, a ray of light came from Norway. This was Dr. Hansen’s discovery of leprosy bacillus. This year marks the 150 anniversary of his discovery. To commemorate this, I hosted an international conference in Bergen for a world without leprosy. The discovery of leprosy bacillus revealed that leprosy was an infectious disease, and the way for the development of drugs was paved. MDT was introduced in the 1980s and leprosy became a curable disease. For 5 years from 1995, The Nippon Foundation and our sister foundation, the Sasakawa Health Foundation worked with WHO to provide MDT free of charge around the world. Many people were cured especially in the European Region, and leprosy came to be considered even as a “disease of the past”.
However, with the recent advance of globalization new cases are on the rise among foreign residents, immigrants and refugees, in the European Region where there were almost no new cases, thanks to your efforts, the number of doctors who are knowledgeable and experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of leprosy had declined. In view of this circumstance, I would like to respect your continued commitment to regard leprosy not as a disease of the past but as an ongoing disease and your efforts to secure treatment and diagnostic tools to achieve the WHO goal of Zero Leprosy.
At the same time, we must not forget that leprosy continues to be associated with severe prejudice and discrimination. Among many diseases, leprosy is the only disease where the affected persons are abandoned by society, friends, and families. Furthermore, not only persons affected but even their family members are facing discrimination totaling to tens of millions of suffering people worldwide. This is clearly one of the oldest and the largest human rights issues in the world. And yet, despite the scale, the problem is little known and understood, because it is so deeply and silently buried in society.
Leprosy is not just a medical issue. It is a social issue, namely a human rights issue. I think of leprosy in terms of a motorcycle: the front wheel symbolizes our efforts to cure the disease; the back wheel symbolizes our efforts to end discrimination. Both wheels must turn together, or we will not achieve” Zero Leprosy”. To all gathered here, I urge you to take advantage of this consultation meeting to share your knowledge, strengthen your networks and strive to achieve “Zero Leprosy” in the European Region. As WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, I will spare no effort to help you in this task. Zero Leprosy is not an impossible dream. Together, let us make the impossible possible. Thank you.