Advocacy
By 2015, the target of eliminating leprosy as a public health problem had been achieved in almost all countries. Once this target was achieved, governments reduced their resource allocation for leprosy control programmes.
Leprosy is chronically underfunded and neglected by governments all over the world.
More than 200,000 new cases reported every year and an unknown number of unreported cases. In order to reach zero leprosy, the government in each country needs to own their own zero leprosy roadmap.
We know that we won't defeat leprosy by working on our own. Partnerships is vital to our aim of a world without leprosy and a world without leprosy-related discrimination. This is why we work with international, national, and local governments.
Read about the change we'd like to see
Mathias Duck
Mathias is TLM's Global Advocacy Manager and is a person affected by leprosy.
We believe in the power of self-advocates
We have trained thousands of people to advocate on their own behalf because their voices are more powerful than ours can ever be.
Read more about self-advocacyOur advocacy work is informed by our key messages
These key messages are focused on how advocacy and partnership can lead us to a world with zero leprosy transmission and towards zero leprosy disability and zero leprosy discrimination.
Read our messages document
Our work with the United Nations
We work with the CRPD, Special Rapporteurs, and the Human Rights Council.
Our work on the UN CRPD
Mainstreaming leprosy rights within the wider disability rights movements is a key part of our advocacy work.
Our Human Rights Work
Human Rights are repeatedly stolen from persons affected by leprosy. We tackle that wherever we can.
Advocacy articles listed
The Leprosy Mission calls on the United Nations to select someone with personal experience of leprosy as the next Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members.
The Leprosy Mission's Global Advocacy Lead's statement, written for the CRPD Conference in 2023
The Co-Chair of the 3rd Roundtable at the 2023 CRPD Conference was Ana Ivonia from The Leprosy Mission Timor-Leste
On Friday 17 June 2022, TLM hosted a side event at the UN's CRPD Conference, alongside our partners, Disabled Peoples' International
In October 2021, TLM presented a petition to permanent missions to the UN in Geneva. The petition called for an end to all laws that discriminate against persons affected by leprosy.
Brent Morgan, TLM International Director, spoke at the UN's 11th CRPD Conference in 2018. This is the statement he delivered.
U Soe Win spoke at a roundtable even at the UN's CRPD Conference in 2020. This is what he said.