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Each month, we share our progress, next steps, and profiles of the people involved in the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy (GPZL).
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Western Pacific Meeting Update
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About 30 representatives of national programs from the Marshall Islands, Guam, Kiribati and Micronesia participated in a WHO-organized training in Pohnpei November 18-22. National directors shared experiences and challenges and were updated on the 2018 WHO guidelines, including new guidelines for preventive chemoprophylaxis (PEP). These officials were highly enthusiastic about the potential for implementing PEP, along with active case finding, and contact tracing. Participants noted that their small island populations make the innovation easier to implement, although geographic separation between islands, and limited transportation, present challenges. Program managers were in agreement that cross-border follow-up will be very important due to migratory populations between islands and between islands and Hawaii and the U.S. Mainland. The PEP protocols developed in Amsterdam during the PEP Research and Practice Workshop, and the GPZL Toolkit, along with technical support from WHO, can be key inputs to country efforts.
Also participating in the meeting were representatives of the Sasakawa Health Foundation, the Pacific Leprosy Foundation, the U.S. CDC, CIOMAL Foundation, WHO-WPRO, and the WHO Country Director, Dr. Eunyoung Ko.
GPZL partners plan to work in a coordinated manner in support of 5 National Leprosy Programmes in 2020. National Programme Directors are encouraged to apply for partnership through the GPZL website to be considered for a partnership project next year. Read more and express interest in GPZL country support here.
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Featured Tool from the Zero Leprosy Toolkit
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The Star: Jul-Dec 2019
The July-December 2019 issue of The Star, radiating the light of truth on Hansen’s disease, was recently released.
The purpose of The Star is to: 1) Promote an educated public opinion of Hansen’s disease. 2.) Serve as advocate for those who have experienced or been impacted by Hansen’s disease. 3) Foster self-empowerment of those who have experienced Hansen’s disease.
Read more from this issue of The Star.
Reprinted with permission from The Star, Carville, Louisiana.
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COR-NTD 2019 Annual Meeting
 The Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD) is a group of researchers, program implementers and their in-country partners with the shared goal of optimizing NTD control and elimination. COR-NTD meets each year with participation from researchers, the World Health Organization, country program managers, implementers, and donors. Working groups comprised of NTD experts conduct discussions at the annual COR-NTD meeting and throughout the year on key themes, providing important guidance on the NTD research agenda.
This year at COR-NTD a session on PEP brought together leprosy researchers and operational experts to discuss major challenges in implementing preventative chemotherapy against leprosy under program conditions. The session included findings from previous PEP studies, innovative approaches to implementing PEP, and ended with a group discussion about needs for further study on this topic. View our twitter thread from the session to read quotes from presenters and learn more about the topics presented.
In addition to the session on leprosy, NLR showcased their Skin App at COR-NTD's innovation lab. The app helps health workers recognize symptoms of diseases that impact the skin, like leprosy, and is an exciting innovation in leprosy detection. The app demonstration drew interest from conference participants across all NTD disease groups. Read more about the Skin App.
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Conference of Organizations of Persons Affected by Leprosy
12 December 2019 | Dhaka, Bangladesh
The purpose of the POs Conference is to create space to allow People’s Organizations to learn from each other and the national programme in working to achieve “Zero Leprosy, Zero disability and Zero discrimination with in 2030 from Bangladesh”. Participants will discuss the goals and the challenges of People’s Organizations, and next steps to continue moving forward in Bangladesh.
Read more about this event.
Our online calendar lists global leprosy events and meetings. Are you hosting a meeting related to leprosy? Let us know by completing the contact form.
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Working together towards zero leprosy: join the partnership
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Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy | www.zeroleprosy.org
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