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. However, this is an outdated definition of elimination, meaning fewer than 1 case in 10,000 population.
Leprosy persists today and is now 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 will not defeat leprosy by working on our own. Partnerships are 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, as well as with Organisations of Persons Affected by Leprosy.
Read about the change we'd like to see >
Mathias is TLM's Global Advocacy Lead 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.
TLM's Advocacy Working Group
In 2024, The Leprosy Mission's Board commissioned a new Member-Appointed Working Group on advocacy. This includes experts from within and outside of The Leprosy Mission.
Our 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
We work with the CRPD, Special Rapporteurs, and the Human Rights Council.
Mainstreaming leprosy rights within the wider disability rights movements is a key part of our advocacy 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.