Developing Countries: Leprosy

(asked on 6th February 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will allocate funding to support research to find a specific and sensitive rapid diagnostic test for leprosy.


Answered by
Andrew Murrison Portrait
Andrew Murrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This question was answered on 11th February 2020

A key aim of the UK’s global health work is to support countries build and maintain strong health systems, and universal health coverage, to tackle all causes of ill health, working in close partnership with national governments. We do not plan to have strategies on specific neglected tropical diseases like leprosy.

UK aid is invested in several major neglected tropical disease (NTD) programmes, which are focused on building systems to treat and prevent Guinea worm, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, visceral leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, and trachoma. These diseases were identified based on a detailed analysis of the burden of the disease, the UK’s comparative advantage in the area, and the availability and cost effectiveness of treatment and prevention.

In September 2019 in Liverpool, Baroness Sugg launched the UK’s flagship £220 million NTDs programme. This programme will provide treatment and care for NTDs to 200 million people. We continue to assess the inclusion of leprosy for each country where we operate NTD programming, taking into consideration the disease burden, other financial support available, and whether leprosy activities can be delivered cost-effectively in conjunction with other activities.

Reticulating Splines