Leprosy control activities of the International Federation of Anti-leprosy Associations.

The International Federation of Anti-leprosy Associations (ILEP) founded in 1966, consists of 22 autonomous nongovernmental organizations raising funds from the general public in the North for anti-leprosy work in the South. ILEP Member associations support over 800 field projects in 92 countries, in addition to over 130 research and other projects with a total annual expenditure of about US+ 60 million. 72% of the resources are spent on leprosy-control activities, 12% on training, 10% on research and 6% on socioeconomic activities. About 55% of resources are devoted to activities of national/regional leprosy programmes. ILEP-supported projects had detected over 100,000 patients in 1988. ILEP Member associations introduced WHO-recommended multidrug therapy (MDT) quite early, and the coverage for MDT in ILEP-supported projects has increased from 8% in 1984 to 35% in 1988 (271,000 patients in 1989 out of 769,000 on treatment). ILEP Member associations are currently supporting approaches towards integration of leprosy control with other services, urban leprosy programmes and social and physical rehabilitation. Thanks to their flexibility, their sense of innovation and their commitment to the worldwide anti-leprosy campaign, ILEP Members are well placed to meet the challenge of making MDT available to all leprosy patients by the year 2000.