ILEP meetings, Brentford, June 2022

Meeting in person again after almost three years was a deeply positive experience. ILEP member The Leprosy Mission welcomed to Brentford, in west London, the ILEP Technical Commission (ITC), the ILEP Advisory Panel, and the ILEP Members’ Assembly. Each of these groups met for two days. These were the first face-to-face meetings since the current ITC and Panel were appointed. For the Members’ Assembly, it was notable that more than a third of Member CEOs had been appointed since we last met in person.

The ILEP Technical Commission programme included a one-day symposium on phases towards the elimination of leprosy disease, how these phases apply in lower-endemic settings, and the implications for the design and implementation of leprosy programmes. This included presentations from WHO and from numerous countries where leprosy is already low-endemic. A report from a comprehensive literature review published in 2021 demonstrated the very low likelihood of ongoing transmission of leprosy, or a resurgence, once incidence is reduced to just sporadic cases.

The ILEP Advisory Panel was diminished by the fact that four of its seven members did not receive visas in time. Nevertheless, in addition to their regular agenda, Panel members were able to participate in a parliamentary meeting of the UK Coalition on NTDs. Rachna Kumari’s speech on the occasion is here.

The ILEP Members’ Assembly, in addition to its regular meeting, had a one-day CEOs’ Summit devoted to conversations about the projects to be funded from the ILEP Project Reserve, coordination and collaboration in endemic countries, and putting the ILEP strategy into operation. The four projects to be funded from the ILEP Project Reserve, plus supplementary contributions by some ILEP members, are listed in the following table:

Name	Members/ partners	Duration	Contribution (CHF)
From Words to Action The NTD Inclusion Score Card: Piloting an organisational self-assessment tool for meaningful participation	NLR, TLM, DAHW Global Chagas Coalition; CBM Global; CBM International	1 year Oct 2022 – Sep 2023	82,000
Global Leprosy Mapping Initiative To develop tools, processes, and best practices to support MoHs to map leprosy, with focus on capacity building, sustainability, and knowledge exchange to facilitate achievement of global leprosy targets	ALM, NLR, DAHW, DFB, TLM Emory University; Inst. of Tropical Medicine (Antwerp); stakeholders in 12 countries	3 years Jan 2023 – Dec 2025	349,000
Lift Leprosy Learning To halt and reverse dwindling leprosy expertise by coordinating global efforts and initiatives for capacity building in an integrated and comprehensive manner	NLR, TLM, SLC, Effect Hope ILEP Members and MOH in 7 countries	3 years Oct 2022 – Sep 2025	206,000
UPLIFT Unlocking the Potential of Leprosy and NTD affected people, to pursue Inclusive, Fulfilling and Transformational lives, through a harmonized community based group model	Effect Hope, Lepra, DAHW ILEP Members and partners in 3 countries	30 months Jan 2023 – Jun 2025	183,000

The Member CEOs also agreed to appoint one Member association as the lead agency for each of the five strategic goals, with several other ILEP Members listed as participants. The working groups and lead organisations are in the following table:

Key Strategic Goal 2021-2025	Lead ILEP Member
Global framework and strategy to build and sustain leprosy capacity	NLR
Globally consistent leprosy data standards and data collection methodologies, leading to accurate reporting for improved programme planning and monitoring	FAIRMED
Readily available services related to mental wellbeing in leprosy	Lepra
Active engagement by persons affected by leprosy	TLM
Innovative approaches through research, proof of concept, and application of game-changing technologies and processes	ALM