GAEL 2003: The Yangon Declaration
James L. Huffman
The Nippon Foundation
The Nippon Foundation
Indepth Articles
[Apr. 16, 2003]
On the 8th of February, the 3rd Meeting of the Global Alliance for
the Elimination of Leprosy came to an end in Yangon, Myanmar. The
past year has seen many strong advances toward the true elimination
of leprosy. The Yangon declaration expresses the aim to continue
this trend, by both proactively and realistically defining the
current state of worldwide elimination activities and setting forth
a strong framework for the continuation of such activities over the
next three years to the end of 2005.
The text of the Yangon Declaration is reproduced below.
The Yangon Declaration
We, the participants of the Third Meeting of the Global Alliance
for the Elimination of Leprosy, convened at the initiative of the
World Health Organization (WHO) in Yangon, Union of Myanmar, from
6-8 February 2003, under the chairmanship of the Minster of Health,
Union of Myanmar.
- EXPRESS APPRECIATION to the Government of the Union of Myanmar
for their hospitality and generous support to the meeting. - RECALL that significant impetus was given to leprosy
elimination efforts with the 1991 World Health Assembly
Resolution (WHA44.9) in attaining the goal of eliminating
leprosy as a public health problem, at the global level by the
end of 2005. - REAFFIRM that the global strategy based on applying the public
health approach, including fully integrating treatment services
within the basic health services and changing the negative
image is the best way to achieve and sustain elimination of
leprosy. - ENDORSE the Strategic Plan for 2003-2005 and the time table to
achieve and sustain elimination in all endemic countries, and
emphasize the need to accelerate the process of integrating the
specialized leprosy-specific structures and provide leprosy
services to all communities through the existing general health
services. - NOTE that today leprosy remains a public health problem in only
12 out of 122 countries listed as endemic in 1985. It is hoped
that the remaining countries will achieve the elimination
targets on time. The target set to achieve elimination by all
countries by the year 2005 may be missed by some countries.
Special efforts should be made to assist them in reaching the
target. - CONGRATULATE the Government of the Union of Myanmar for setting
a shining example by effectively applying the global strategy
and reaching the national goal of elimination in a most cost-
effective manner. - NOTE WITH GRATITUDE the efforts of the Special Ambassador to
GAEL in advocating for leprosy elimination with national
authorities of several endemic countries and maintaining the
momentum of the Final Push towards elimination. - ACKNOWLEDGE that despite the significant progress made so far,
access to services among underserved populations, particularly
for underprivileged groups and women is still unsatisfactory in
many endemic countries. - APPRECIATE the efforts made by major endemic countries in the
integration of leprosy services. - APPRECIATE the contribution of the Technical Advisory Group and
Scientific Working Group for elimination of leprosy for their
technical guidance and practical advice to the program. - REAFFIRM that the members of the Global Alliance for the
Elimination of Leprosy continue to collaborate in line with
recommendations if this meeting, particularly at the country
level, in order to eliminate leprosy as a public health problem
from every country by the year 2005.