Editing Leprosy (section)

== Public policy ==
The World Health Organization maintains an [[WHO Expert Committee on Leprosy|Expert Committee on Leprosy]] since 1954, and a goal of the WHO is to "eliminate leprosy." In 2016 the organization launched "Global Leprosy Strategy 2016–2020: Accelerating towards a leprosy-free world".<ref name="WHOstrategy">{{Cite web|title=WHO {{!}} The Global Leprosy Strategy|url=http://www.who.int/lep/strategy/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060917130403/http://www.who.int/lep/strategy/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 September 2006|access-date=9 February 2021|website=WHO}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The final push strategy to eliminate leprosy as a public health problem: questions and answers | website=[[World Health Organization]] (WHO) | date=18 September 2003 | url=https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-CDS-CPE-CEE-2003.37 | access-date=28 May 2024 | archive-date=28 May 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528055808/https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-CDS-CPE-CEE-2003.37 | url-status=live }}</ref> Elimination of leprosy is defined as "reducing the proportion of (people with) leprosy in the community to very low levels, specifically to below one case per 10,000 population".<ref>{{Cite web|title=WHO {{!}} Elimination of leprosy FAQ|url=http://www.who.int/lep/strategy/faqs/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018141200/http://www.who.int/lep/strategy/faqs/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 October 2014|access-date=9 February 2021|website=WHO}}</ref> Diagnosis and treatment with multidrug therapy are effective, and a 45% decline in disease burden has occurred since MDT has become more widely available.<ref name="WHOeliminate">{{Cite web|title=Leprosy elimination |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] (WHO) |url=https://www.who.int/lep/en/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314203445/http://www.who.int/lep/en/|archive-date=14 March 2014|access-date=3 July 2019}}</ref> The organization emphasizes the importance of fully integrating leprosy treatment into public health services, effective diagnosis and treatment, and access to information.<ref name="WHOeliminate" /> The approach includes supporting an increase in health care professionals who understand the disease, and a coordinated and renewed political commitment that includes coordination between countries and improvements in the methodology for collecting and analysing data.<ref name="WHOstrategy" />

Interventions include:<ref name="WHOstrategy" />

* Early detection of cases focusing on children to reduce transmission and disabilities.
* Enhanced healthcare services and improved access for people who may be marginalized.
* For countries where leprosy is endemic, further interventions include an improved screening of close contacts, improved treatment regimens, and interventions to reduce stigma and discrimination against people who have leprosy.

In some instances in India, community-based rehabilitation is embraced by local governments and NGOs alike. Often, the identity cultivated by a community environment is preferable to reintegration, and models of self-management and collective agency independent of NGOs and government support have been desirable and successful.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Staples J | title = Communities of the afflicted: constituting leprosy through place in South India | journal = Medical Anthropology | volume = 33 | issue = 1 | pages = 6–20 | date = 2014 | pmid = 24383749 | doi = 10.1080/01459740.2012.714021 | s2cid = 24595253 | url = https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/10276 | access-date = 22 November 2022 | archive-date = 13 February 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230213111214/https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/10276 | url-status = live }}</ref>