Leprosy, LEARNS and laughter (1 min read)

“I met the woman in the photograph above in a remote community in the Philippines. Her leprosy diagnosis was delayed, leading to physical disability and deformity. Despite her tremendous suffering, she was successfully treated – still smiling and laughing, she survived and so, too, did her hope and positive outlook on life.

Although free multidrug therapy has reduced the number of leprosy patients globally, the number of new patients has plateaued in the past decade at about 200,000 – 250,000 annually. In the Philippines, about 2,000 new leprosy patients are still detected each year.

Today, the ‘last mile task’ is helping to reduce delays in diagnosis, so others can receive treatment sooner and avoid disability. Launched as part of a Task Force for Leprosy by the Philippine Department of Health and the Novartis Foundation, the Leprosy Alert and Response Network System (LEARNS) was first implemented in the lloilo province and now covers 27 provinces in nine regions. It is a mobile phone-based system that allows frontline providers to send images of suspected leprosy lesions and symptoms via SMS to a specialist, helping to reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment.”

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• Dr. Alexander Kumar, global health medical doctor and professional photographer from UK, London