“Experience shows that when persons with disabilities are empowered to participate and lead the process of development, the entire community opens up” says UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon in his Message on International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

It is estimated that around 10% of the world’s population, or 650 million people are living with disabilities. Many are not aware that so many are affected. The International Day of Persons with Disabilities helps raise understanding of the multiple issues they face and also helps promote knowledge of the gains that can be made from including persons with disabilities in every aspect of life.

It is extremely problematic to know with any certainty how many persons there are with disabilities as a result of leprosy. There may be around three million. ILEP Members are helping to enhance their quality of life, for example, by:  

• providing footwear and assistive devices;
• providing eye surgery;
• assisting with community-based rehabilitation programmes for people with disabilities in the community; and
• promoting self-help groups and encouraging their amalgamation with those for people with disabilities caused by other conditions.

In addition, ILEP and its partners are working to prevent disabilities and impairments associated with leprosy. The world has seen a progressive rise in the proportion of grade two disabilities among new cases of leprosy over the years 2004-2008*. Of the 247 006 new cases recorded for 2008, 13 989 were reported as already having grade two disability. This meant the person had either reduced vision and/or visible damage to either their hands and/or feet. Delay in diagnosis, at least in some countries, is the most likely cause of such disabilities.

For this reason the WHO Enhanced Global Strategy for Further Reducing the Disease Burden Due to Leprosy, agreed and endorsed in April 2009, has set a specific goal related to reduction in numbers of people diagnosed with grade two disability for the strategic period 2011-2015. By asking countries to reduce the rate of new cases with grade two disabilities per 100,000 population by at least 35% by the end of 2015 compared to the baseline at the end of 2010, it is hoped that during that five-year period activities will be adopted that reduce delays in diagnosing and treating people with leprosy. It is anticipated that this will lead to a reduction in the numbers of cases of leprosy, as also the number of persons who have grade two disabilities as a result of leprosy.

At a recent WHO Consultation, hosted by ILEP in London, participants, including experts and members of the ITC, discussed and reviewed how this indicator could be better monitored and validated at the global level and to explore its association with delay in diagnosis and estimate undetected cases in the community. According to Mr Douglas Soutar, General Secretary of ILEP, “It was not surprising that one of the key recommendations was to encourage 100% disability assessment coverage for all new cases at the time of diagnosis”.

It is also hoped that by providing leprosy-related data for inclusion in the World Report on Disability and Rehabilitation (forthcoming in 2010), ILEP Members will contribute towards gaining a more accurate overview of persons with leprosy-related disabilities as well as of persons with disabilities in the world.  

* See page 9 (pdf file page 18) of the ILEP Annual Report 2008-2009 for numbers of persons with grade two disability at time of diagnosing leprosy for the years 2004-2008.

 

Of Interest

Click on link to read the UN Secretary-General’s Message
Click on link to read the Statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights

See also Realising the MDGs for Persons with Disabilities
http://www.ilep.org.uk/news-events/article/view/realising-the-mdgs-for-persons-with-disabilities/389/

ILEP Materials Relating to Disability

• How to Prevent Disability in Leprosy (Part One, Part Two, Part Three)
• Guidelines for the Social and Economic Rehabilitation of People affected by Leprosy
• WHO/ILEP Technical Guide on Community-Based Rehabilitation and Leprosy

 

Read about prevention of disability in leprosy:
http://www.ilep.org.uk/facts-about-leprosy/prevention-of-disability/

27th November 2009 Issue of The Lancet has been themed for the first time on disability to mark the 2009 International Day of Persons with Disabilities.  

Categories: International Collaboration, News and Notes