MESSAGE FROM THE AMBASSADOR
Take advantage of our window of opportunity
I have compared the fight against leprosy to a motorcycle, with the front wheel representing efforts to control the disease and the back wheel indicating actions to eliminate discrimination. Read More
50th Anniversary of WHO–TNF/SHF Partnership
Interview with Dr. David Heymann
With this issue, the Leprosy Bulletin is launching a six-part series in relation to the upcoming 50th anniversary of the partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO) and The Nippon Foundation (TNF)/Sasakawa Health Foundation (SHF) for the elimination of leprosy. Read more
VIEWPOINT
CRADAR-i method promises a breakthrough in point-of-care diagnostic testing for leprosy
At present, definitive leprosy diagnosis relies on laboratory-based PCR testing involving expensive equipment, refrigeration, and highly trained technicians. Testing for drug resistance requires an additional scientific instrument called a DNA sequencer. Read more
VIEWPOINT
A rights-based perspective on stopping transmission
Last month, in May 2024, I attended the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy (GPZL) Zero Transmission Symposium to discuss the interruption of Hansen’s disease and take stock of progress made since a similar symposium was held 10 years ago. Read more
AMBASADDOR’S JOURNAL
Goodwill Ambassador seeks cooperation to realize WHO’s global strategy targets by 2030
The World Health Organization (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, Yohei Sasakawa, visited Geneva, Switzerland, to meet with health ministers from WHO-designated global priority countries and other officials who were in the city to attend the 77th World Health Assembly. Read more
SPOTLIGHT
New website about Bergen’s leprosy heritage
In the global history of leprosy, Norway’s second largest city, Bergen, is best known for being the place where Dr. Gerhard Armauer Hansen discovered the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae in 1873. Read more
