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https://www.who.int/news/item/19-09-2024-jordan-becomes-first-country-to-receive-who-verification-for-eliminating-leprosy>
"The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates the Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan for becoming the first country in the world to be officially verified as
having eliminated leprosy. This significant milestone marks a new era in global
public health efforts.
“WHO congratulates Jordan on this impressive milestone,” said WHO
Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Leprosy has afflicted humanity
for millennia, but country-by-country we are stopping transmission and freeing
individuals, families and communities from its suffering and stigma.”
“Jordan’s elimination of this age-old disease is a historic milestone in public
health and a huge success for efforts to eliminate leprosy globally,” said
Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia who heads WHO’s Global
Leprosy Programme. “The fight against leprosy around the world is more than a
fight against a disease. It is also a fight against stigma, and a fight against
psychological and socio-economic harm. I congratulate Jordan on its
achievement.”
Jordan has not reported any autochthonous cases of leprosy for over two
decades, a testament to its strong political commitment and effective public
health strategies to eliminate the disease.
Following up on the Ministry of Health’s interest in verifying the elimination
of leprosy, WHO commissioned an independent team to assess this situation.
After an extensive review, the verification team recommended that WHO
acknowledges leprosy has been eliminated in Jordan.
“Jordan’s elimination of leprosy is an achievement that will transform the
discourse around this age-old, stigmatizing disease,” said WHO Regional
Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy. “As the first country
to achieve this target globally, Jordan stands as an inspiration to other
countries, encouraging them to enhance their efforts and overcome barriers to
achieve this remarkable feat.”"
Via
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Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics