news and media: news
February 2007
One Billion Poor Suffer from “Neglected Diseases”—Leprosy Intrinsically Linked to Poverty
Though an estimated one billion people in tropical countries continue to suffer from debilitating and disfiguring diseases associated with poverty, many remain untreated due to neglect by officials.
Inexpensive and safe treatments are available for those suffering from diseases such as leprosy; however, lack of resources and political will often prevent the treatments from ever reaching those who need them.
Jain Nairan, South East Asia Director of Communicable Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO), says that even though these diseases have devastating consequences to those they affect, they have been widely neglected by policy makers, the research community and the international community. Nairan explains, “…These diseases cause considerable amount of suffering, disability, disfigurement, and even social economic impact, particularly for populations which are extremely marginalized.”
Unlike diseases such as polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria, leprosy does not often appear in media headlines as a “global problem.” This lack of media attention only serves to further isolate those with the disease, further widening the poverty gap.
Nairan reiterates that neglected diseases like leprosy are intrinsically linked to poverty. He asserts, “The elimination of such diseases would be a significant step toward poverty reduction.”
As the oldest and largest organization in the United States devoted to restoring the lives of people affected by leprosy and related conditions worldwide through holistic cure and care, American Leprosy Missions (ALM) understands just how devastating leprosy can be not just physically, but socially, spiritually, and economically as well. We support projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and are in a ground-breaking partnership with the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle to develop the world’s first leprosy vaccine. As we continue forward, we move ever closer to our goal of completely eradicating leprosy while continuing to provide care to those who suffer from the ravages of this disease.
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