The Path Ahead for GPZL’s Resource Mobilisation Efforts

Resource mobilisation is a key part of the function of the partnership, and GPZL is actively working to increase the alignment of existing leprosy funding and to identify and secure new funds. A partnership and resource mobilisation strategy is being implemented, with strategic guidance from the GPZL leadership team and senior fundraising experts. Funding opportunities will be identified, and collaborations developed around both the Zero Leprosy Research Agenda priorities and the National Zero Leprosy Country Model scale-up.

During its inaugural meeting in Colchester, UK, the Leadership Team articulated core values for advocacy and resource mobilisation. They noted that the strategy must focus on bringing additional resources and leveraging existing resources where feasible. Funding to ensure the successful implementation of the GPZL’s common goals, outlined in the research agenda and toolkit, will be a priority. The GPZL will not take funds away from existing efforts nor compete for funding with its members. The GPZL will focus on funding for shared, new priorities including advocating for the importance of additional resources to those working in leprosy (including government agencies and NGOs). Many GPZL member organisations will be valuable technical assistance leaders in strategies to get to zero leprosy.

Funding for the research agenda’s priorities is a major focus. Unlike other neglected tropical diseases like Lymphatic Filariasis and Schistosomiasis, which had a single donor agree to fund a complete research agenda and to convene the group preparing that agenda, leprosy research has not received long-term, large scale funding from a single donor. However, key research priorities can be developed as stand-alone protocols and can also be inserted into larger implementation proposals as critical research questions.

Funding for implementation of the country model is also important. The GPZL is currently working on an application to the Audacious Project and Grand Challenges Canada. They are also finalising a proposal to the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change project. This proposal, being developed with the Leprosy Mission International and interested ILEP Members, proposes to work with eight countries to reduce leprosy transmission by 50% over five years while promoting human rights and inclusion through peer-to-peer initiatives led by members of IDEA and global associations of persons who have experienced leprosy. Together these activities would result in achieving the WHO global target of no child cases by 2030.

Reposted with permission from The Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy – originally published 24 July 2019 here.

The missing billion

A billion people around the world who live with disabilities are being left behind without access to healthcare.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has issued a major publication on access to health services for the billion people worldwide living with disabilities. The report argues that SDG 3, Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, cannot be achieved without better efforts to make sure persons with disabilities have access to healthcare. There are some sobering statistics. Persons with disabilities are:

• 3 times more likely to suffer from diabetes;
• 2 times likelier to suffer from HIV/AIDS; and
• 50 times likelier to incur catastrophic health expenditures.

The report urges organisations such as ILEP Members to ensure that in all of our services, programmes and training, we make sure that we are reaching, and not excluding, persons with disabilities. We should ask ourselves, for example, whether there are any barriers that prevent leprosy case-finding and contact tracing activities from reaching persons with physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities. Or factors that limit access by persons with disabilities to treatment centres, rehabilitation or community development programmes. The report can be found here.

WHO Africa Region NTDs conference

ILEP representatives participated in the meeting of NTD programme managers in Addis Ababa in July.

The three-day meeting started with a review of progress on the WHO Roadmap on NTDs from 2012-2020, and went on to look at progress in devising the new 2021-2030 Roadmap. Special topics were also discussed: domestic financing, information systems, laboratory strengthening, disease management and disability prevention.

In the AFRO Region, NTDs are categorised into the PCT (preventive chemotherapy) group and the CM (case management) group. It was good hearing Dr Mwele Ntuli Malecela (director of the WHO global NTDs department) point out that this categorisation needs to change, since NTDs like leprosy have both preventive and case management elements.

Benedict Quao (Ghana), Christian Johnson (FRF) and Geoff Warne, all of whom are on the leadership team of the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy, led a side event on GPZL’s country model for zero leprosy. This was well attended by francophone and anglophone programme managers, with a very productive Q&A session. I appreciated how welcome partners are in consultations in this region.

For more on the country model, visit https://zeroleprosy.org/about-the-partnership/country-model/. The model was recently piloted in Nepal, and there’s an initial report on that experience at https://zeroleprosy.org/mission-to-nepal/.

Rehabilitation in health systems: a guide for action

A new publication from WHO advises countries on how to strengthen rehabilitation in health services. ILEP Members involved in rehabilitation are advised to take note.

This month, as part of the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative, WHO published Rehabilitation in health systems: guide for action. It offers a four-phase process for countries wanting to improve their rehabilitation systems as part of general health systems strengthening:

• Assessing the rehabilitation situation in a systematic way;
• Developing a rehabilitation strategic plan;
• Establishing monitoring, evaluation, and review processes, including targets and indicators; and
• Implementing the strategic plan, and building capacity to improve it over time.

ILEP Members working in rehabilitation should be aware of this Guide, as countries will be encouraged to implement it. The publication can be found here, and I draw your attention to the overview on page 6 and the brief summary of the four phases on pages 7-11.

Inclusion of NTDs in Universal Health Coverage: call for research proposals

The NTD Support Center has invited proposals for operational research on how to include NTDs within Universal health coverage (UHC) in national health systems.

UHC is one of the cornerstones of the Sustainable Development Goals. The core principle is that all people have access to and use the quality health services they need, without incurring financial hardship. NTDs need to be included as part of UHC in countries where these diseases are endemic and where people will live with NTD-related disability long after elimination certification. Presently, the NTD programme exists as a standalone vertical programme in many countries. The RFP will contribute to an understanding of how we move from vertical programming for NTD control and elimination to the integration of NTDs within the standard package of care delivered at the primary health care unit. Strengthening the existing health system to be able to incorporate NTD programming into their regular activities is integral to this process.

Information about the call for proposals and how to apply can be seen here.