DOH, Novartis: Fight vs leprosy not yet over

MANILA, Philippines - The fight against leprosy is not yet over. Innovation is needed to prevent re-emergence of the disease, finally eliminate leprosy’s social stigma, and help people affected by the disease lead normal lives.

This is the call of the multi-stakeholder meeting for leprosy control in Coron, Palawan organized by the Department of Health (DOH) and Novartis Healthcare Philippines in partnership with the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development (NFSD). 

“The challenge we currently face is in sustaining the fight against leprosy in a low endemicity setting and preventing disease re-emergence. While we eliminated leprosy as a public health problem in 1998, there are areas in the country where new leprosy cases are still being identified,” said DOH Secretary Enrique Ona.

“Leprosy control is at a critical juncture today. The disease has limited spread and the level of international attention and political commitment is declining. Due to the low number of leprosy cases, knowledge and awareness about its diagnosis and treatment is decreasing in many countries,” said Dr. York Lunau, NFSD corporate responsibility adviser.

“Novartis is privileged to work with the DOH in seeking effective approaches and novel ideas to overcome new challenges to leprosy control, particularly eliminating the stigma still attached to the disease and helping affected people reintegrate into society,” said Thomas Weigold, country president and managing director of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

“Multi-drug therapy (MDT), the highly effective standard leprosy treatment recommended by the WHO since 1981, interrupts disease transmission with the first dose, cures patients and prevents disabilities,” said Dr. Francesca Gajete, DOH National Leprosy Control Program (NLCP) manager.

“Leprosy is curable with MDT, which is available for free. Let us help people affected by the disease reintegrate into society by saying no to discrimination,” said DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag, who chairs the National Leprosy Advisory Board.

“Like everybody else, people affected by leprosy have the potential to be productive members of society when given the opportunity and when not discriminated against,” said DOH Assistant Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial.

Top DOH officials in the multi-stakeholder meeting were joined by acting WHO country representative to the Philippines Dr. Woo-Jin Lew, Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Cecilia Quisumbing, and WHO Western Pacific Region Office leprosy consultant Dr. Gemma Cabanos.

Key participants included representatives of the University of the Philippines-College of Medicine, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippine Dermatological Society, Culion Foundation Inc., Leonard Wood Memorial Research Center for Leprosy, Philippine Leprosy Mission, Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurses Association of the Philippines, and Coalition of Leprosy Advocates of the Philippines.

To help sustain the fight against leprosy in a low endemicity setting, the DOH and Novartis recently launched the Best Practices and Innovative Ideas in Fighting Leprosy Contest.

“Public response to the contest has been remarkable. We have received a significant number of entries from all over the Philippines. We are currently selecting the winners in the Best Practices and Innovative Ideas categories,” said Christine Fajardo, corporate affairs and market access director of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

Novartis and the NFSD have a long-term commitment to leprosy treatment and control. Last year, Novartis Healthcare Philippines signed a memorandum of agreement with the DOH to develop and implement strategic innovation activities as part of the broader NLCP.

Today, high-quality MDT drugs are made available for free by Novartis. The company has donated around 50,000 MDT courses to the Philippines.