The recent meeting of the ILEP Board selected eight persons, from 21 very strong candidates, to form the next ILEP Technical Commission.

These persons have expert knowledge of leprosy and will be providing advice and guidance on technical, clinical and operational aspects of leprosy control to the ILEP Federation and its Members for a four-year term starting from the beginning of 2012. They were chosen with respect to the focus of ILEP’s work up to the end of 2015. The members of the new ITC will also work closely with the World Health Organization’s Global Leprosy Programme and particularly with the members of the WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Leprosy.

Whilst these individuals have broad knowledge of leprosy, they have been assigned to take lead roles in those areas in which they specialise:

Cluster A – Public health, epidemiology, leprosy control, programme management and health systems

 Dr Gadde Rajan Babu
 Dr Roch Christian Johnson

Cluster B – Clinical aspects, treatment, prevention of disability

 Dr Hugh Cross
 Professor Cairns Smith

Cluster C – Rehabilitation, inclusive development, human rights and reduction of stigma and discrimination

 Dr Michael Chen
 Dr Wim van Brakel

Cluster D – Education, training and teaching materials, information education communications (IEC)

 Dr Maravic Balagon
 Ms June Nash

Dr Maravic Balagon, Dr Michael Chen, Ms June Nash and Dr Rajan Babu are being welcomed onto the ITC for the first time, whilst the other four are being welcomed back. Professor Cairns Smith will be serving as Chair for a second term.

BRIEF WHO’s WHO of MEMBERS OF THE ITC 2012 – 2015

Dr Christian Johnson

Current position: Medical consultant for FRF (since 2010)

Career summary: main expertise in Buruli Ulcer and leprosy.  Since 2006 Assistant Professor of Public Health, a current  Member of executive committee of WHO Special Consultative Group on Buruli Ulcer in Geneva, in the past Co-coordinator of the Benin National Programme of Fight against Buruli Ulcer (2003-2010). Worked in leprosy since 1998. Experience in elaboration of development and operational plans; international networking; leadership; and managing national programmes. Previous member of ITC.

Dr Rajan Babu

Career summary: Twenty eight years working with The Leprosy Mission Trust India (New Delhi), of which fourteen years in senior management capacity at The Leprosy Mission head office, New Delhi in Monitoring and evaluations, public health and project development.  Additional skills in teaching and facilitation in leprosy training and evaluation training courses. Demonstrated teamwork skills, ability to closely work with the stakeholders.

Dr Hugh Cross

Current position: Currently two roles: the Regional (Asia) Consultant for the Prevention of Disability, supported by the American Leprosy Missions (ALM, since 2001) and the Leprosy Mission Nepal Country Leader (since 2009), supported by The Leprosy Mission (TLMI).  Based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Involved in training, programme development, monitoring, evaluation, and research and resource development, pursuit of a country strategy, partnership development, and macro-management including project cycle management. 

Career: Working in leprosy since 1991, main specialization in prevention of disabilities (POD), with strong areas of interest in wound care, empowerment, stigma, self-efficacy and self-care. Previous member of ITC.

Professor Cairns Smith

Current position: Emeritus Professor of Public Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen.

Career: A long-standing expertise of more than thirty years in the field of leprosy and leprosy research, over 100 papers on leprosy. Among other posts held: Chairman of the World Bank Tropical Disease Scientific Working Group on Leprosy Research 2002-2003, Chair, Consensus Development Conference on Prevention of Disability 2006.  Since 2009 President of Leprosy Mission International.  Chairman of the ILEP Technical Commission 2008-2011 and member and Chairman of WHO Technical Advisory Group and Chair of WHO Expert Committee on leprosy (2010).

Dr Wim van Brakel

Current position: Assistant Professor, Disability & Development, Athena Institutes, Faculty of Earth& Life Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam (since 2009)
Senior Advisor, KIT Development, Policy & Practice, and Head, Leprosy Unit, (KIT), Amsterdam, The Netherlands (since 2003)

Career: Specialised in leprosy, epidemiology, research methods, stigma.
Previously TLMI Research Co-ordinator, India, Project Director INF RELEASE Project, Pokhara, Nepal (leprosy control, rehabilitation, drug rehabilitation, aids prevention). Academic and research experience: teaching on various levels form health worker to PhD level, guidance, supervision of students, curriculum development of variety of research and training courses. Research: designing and conducting clinical and treatment-related studies on leprosy, involved in several cohort studies in Nepal, India and Bangladesh, development and validation of measurement instruments for impairment, activity, participation and stigma. Previous member of ITC.
 

Miss June Nash

Career summary: 35 years experience in the field of leprosy. With a nursing and health visitor background began as a Leprosy control officer in the highlands of Papua New Guinea during the Dapsone era. Ultimately advisor for training and health education to the leprosy control section of the government health department during the establishment of the National Leprosy Elimination Programme in the early 1990s. MSc in public health for developing countries at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, then at ALERT, Ethiopia working in the training department. Main facilitator for training of trainers, psycho social aspects and latterly rehabilitation during ALERT’s international training courses. In the UK has been the international training and development advisor for TLMI and in 2000 became the International Director for HR. In 2007 established a Knowledge Management Centre; thus returning to her passion of promoting learning that produces change and improvement. Whilst still engaged in learning workshops and producing written materials, she is particularly interested in the use of multimedia as a learning medium and the challenges of learning in a virtual setting.

Dr Maravic Balagon

Current position: Executive Director, Leonard Wood Memorial Center for Leprosy Research, Cebu, Philippines

Career summary:

o 1990 – 1994 Clinical Trainee, Dermatology & Clinical Leprosy, LWM Center for Leprosy Research.
o 1992 – 1996 Research Associate, Epidemiology-Clinical Leprosy, LWM.
o 1996 – 2006 Assistant Chief & Research Clinician, Epidemiology-Clinical Leprosy, LWM.
o 2006 – 2010 Chief & Senior Research Clinician, Epidemiology-Clinical Leprosy, LWM.
o 2006 – 2010 Assistant Director, LWM – Cebu.

Experience: academic research and training 

Dr Michael Chen

Current position: Secretary General and Board Member of HANDA Rehabilitation and Welfare Association

Career:

 1985: Bachelor of Medicine, recruited to China Leprosy Control and Research Centre (Guangzhou) for training on leprosy control.
 1986-1996: Worked in China Leprosy Control and Research Centre as a clinical doctor as well as being in charge of leprosy control program in southern provinces of China.
 1991: training at Schieffelin Leprosy Research and Training Centre, Karigiri, India on essentials of leprosy, leprosy control and rehabilitation.
 1997-1998: worked as a volunteer for a newly registered HANDA Rehabilitation & Welfare Association for the people affected by leprosy
 1999: Joined HANDA as Secretary General and resigned government MO post.
 Up to 2011: building up and developing organizational and managerial capacity of HANDA, developing professional capacity of its work staff to best serve the people affected by leprosy. HANDA now has 25 full-time staff and 2000 plus volunteers, offices in three provinces, networks of people affected in six provinces and active in 12 provinces covering 200 leprosy villages.

Experience: Clinical Leprosy treatment, physical and psychological rehabilitation, project information, monitoring, evaluation, inclusive focus development with focus on people with disabilities, resource mobilisation. 

Categories: News and Notes, Technical information