At its 15th session, which ended at the beginning of October, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution encouraging governments to eliminate discrimination against people affected by leprosy — and their family members. As the World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, I have long campaigned for this outcome.
Leprosy is one of the world's oldest diseases. It has a physical dimension, but also social and psychological components. For much of its long history, there was no known cure. It was only in the latter part of the 20th century that a truly effective chemotherapy became available.
Since the introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT) in the early 1980s, roughly 16 million people around the world have been cured. In virtually every country in the world, leprosy is no longer regarded as a public health problem.