NNN Conference 2022

The annual conference of the Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network (NNN) was held from 13-15 September in a hybrid format: face-to-face in Kathmandu, Nepal, and online. The Leprosy Mission Nepal was the official host of the Conference.

There was strong representation from the leprosy world. More than one-third of the attendees had connections with leprosy organisations, particularly from Nepal and India, including ILEP Member associations and people’s organisations such as IDEA Nepal. Six of the seven ILEP Advisory Panel members were active participants in the Conference and built a strong connection with the IDEA Nepal representatives.

Discriminatory law

An advocacy event, organised by IDEA Nepal and ILEP Members working in Nepal, was held the day before the Conference. The aim of the event was to raise political and judicial awareness of marriage legislation in Nepal that discriminates against persons affected by leprosy. The audience heard that the law contradicts government statements that leprosy is not to be feared, and it is not in keeping with Nepal’s commitments under the CRPD Convention. Speakers from the Supreme Court, Bar Association and National Human Rights Institution talked about the process for changing the law. There was optimism that this can be accomplished by mid-2023.

Leprosy-specific group meeting

130 participants – almost half the in-person delegates – joined the 3-hour leprosy-specific group meeting facilitated by Andie Tucker (GPZL) and Geoff Warne (ILEP). The first half of the meeting covered the challenges and opportunities around integration of leprosy with other NTDs. Break-out groups discussed examples of integration with Skin-NTDs and what had made this integration successful. The second half included presentations and Q&A on the implications for ILEP Members of the forthcoming WHO guidance for countries wishing to assert leprosy elimination (defined as interruption of transmission) and included data from four low-endemic countries demonstrating the application of the elimination framework.

ILEP Member delegates were also very engaged in the Skin NTDs cross-cutting group and the Disease Management Disability and Inclusion (DMDI) cross-cutting group, as well as in the many Conference workshops.

Conference opening plenary

The President of Nepal was the chief guest, thanks to tireless work by Shovakhar Kandel (TLM Nepal) during the weeks leading up to the Conference. Other key speakers during the event included Amar Timalsina (member of the ILEP Advisory Panel) who used the history of IDEA Nepal to demonstrate how people’s organisations have enabled people affected by leprosy to have a clear and powerful voice; and Wim van Brakel (NLR and ILEP Technical Commission) who gave examples of ILEP Member collaboration with government programmes, local universities, and other partners to continue to improve the tools available to combat leprosy. He also spoke about the holistic nature of ILEP’s work, working towards zero transmission, zero disability and zero discrimination, and how ILEP and its Member associations have sought to infuse this holistic approach into the NNN community as a whole.

Sponsorship

ILEP was once again a Platinum sponsor of the NNN Conference thanks to financial contributions by The Leprosy Mission, NLR and Effect Hope. One benefit of sponsorship was an allocated display table which was shared with, and very capably managed by, Suzan, Chrysa and Roos from LRI and InfoNTD. This became something of a hub for ILEP Member personnel and others connected to the leprosy world.