In 2016 World Health Organisation launched the Global Leprosy Strategy 2016–2020: Accelerating towards a leprosy-free world, which aims to reinvigorate efforts to control leprosy and avert disabilities, especially among children still affected by the disease in endemic countries.

The key interventions needed to achieve the targets include-

• Detecting cases early before visible disabilities occur, with a special focus on children as a way to reduce disabilities and reduce transmission.
• Targeting detection among higher risk groups through campaigns in highly endemic areas or communities.
• Improving health care coverage and access for marginalized populations

Till 2016, the annual leprosy statistics were collected through paper-based reporting forms, filled scanned and emailed to the Global leprosy programme from nearly 100 countries across the world. Similarly MDT request including data on existent stock were filled and emailed to the drug manager/logistics in charge in WHO Neglected tropical diseases department based in WHO HQ. The data received were entered into MS Excel spreadsheet and analyzed for defining trends and presenting in Global Leprosy Update annual publication. Several countries are positively disposed to use DHIS2 in their national programmes since they were familiar with the software. WPRO has been using it to report leprosy data for the past five years. Therefore WHO decided to build DHIS2 based information system for data collection and visualization of data using built-in dash board in DHIS2 application. Several countries positively disposed to use DHIS2 in their national programmes.

Considering the level of acceptance and familiarity in using DHIS2 by large number of countries a trial was made in 2017 in consultation with HSD and support from SEARO ICT to use DHIS2 application for collecting annual leprosy statistics. Services of HISP were contacted for developing the DHIS2 application and use by GLP.

Deliverables

• Develop an effective data management system to measure reduction of disease burden due to leprosy globally covering all countries in six WHO Regions.
• Develop a uniform data collection system using DHIS2 application to collect, compile and analyze annual leprosy statistics and MDT indent by national leprosy programmes.
• Facilitate extraction of data tables for publication in global leprosy update annually in Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) of WHO.
• Generate graphs and presentation formats defining trends of new case detection, prevalence, new disability cases.
• Introduce one data repository/reporting system for national programmes to inform about leprosy situation and request/indent for multi-drug therapy (MDT).

    

HISP supported WHO in getting data collected, compiled, analyzed and published resulted in publish of global leprosy update in WER for the year 2017 which can be accessed using the link: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/258841/1/WER9235.pdf?ua=1

After successful completion of Phase one of Global leprosy Program, WHO and HISP are working together for the Phase two with couple of specific features and modifications in DHIS2 application.