Millions of people live with the effects of leprosy and tens of thousands of new cases are reported every year, but the debilitating disease can be eliminated given enough resources, an organisation helping to curb the disease said.
It is one of the oldest known diseases, first mentioned in written records in 600 BC, and affects the poorest and most marginalized communities. If untreated, it can lead to permanent disability.
Although the number of cases has plummeted from 5.2 million in 1985 to about 210,000 a year now, it still exists in more than 100 countries. The majority of cases are found in India, Brazil and Indonesia.
"The last mile is the most difficult one and the most expensive one, and one where you need most innovation and resources," said Ann Aerts, head of the Novartis Foundation.
The foundation has run leprosy programmes for decades and is working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reduce the spread of the disease.
"We cannot give up. Now that we are almost there," Aerts said in a telephone interview from Basel, Switzerland.
The WHO has made free treatment available globally since 1995, initially through the Nippon Foundation, and since 2000 through the pharmaceutical company Novartis and the Novartis Foundation.
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