01384nas a2200133 4500000000100000008004100001260004000042653001300082100001600095700001200111245009000123856014500213520089200358 2020 d bGlobal Partnership for Zero Leprosy 10 aCovid-19 1 aCavaliero A 1 aQuao BO 00 aGPZL working group assesses challenges and a path forward for leprosy during COVID-19 uhttps://zeroleprosy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/GPZL-working-group-assesses-challenges-and-a-path-forward-for-leprosy-during-COVID-19.pdf 3 aOn 4 March 2020, as a rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 infections were beginning to be reported around the globe, the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy (GPZL) Leadership Team held a strategy session to discuss the potential impact of the pandemic on member organizations and GPZL’s 2020 Strategic Outline.
Three urgent areas of focus were identified:
1. Assessing and resolving the pandemic-related challenges of national leprosy programs.
2. Understanding and amplifying the humanitarian needs of persons affected by leprosy and their
families.
3. Preparing for the resumption of regular activities following COVID-19.
Working groups were proposed for each of these focal areas. The first of these, the Leprosy Emergency Operations Committee (LEOC) was formed to assess and take action on the emergency situations being reported by national programs.