Brazil’s WHO Centres Strengthen Regional Fight Against Leprosy and Skin Neglected Tropical Diseases
“Integrated skin screenings reduced stigma and improved service uptake, reinforcing the effectiveness of using the skin as an entry point for neglected tropical disease control.”
Two World Health Organization collaborating centres in Brazil have played a central role in strengthening efforts to detect and control leprosy and other skin-related neglected tropical diseases across the Americas, contributing technical expertise to the implementation of the Global Leprosy Strategy 2021–2030.
The collaboration involves the Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima and the Fundação Hospitalar Alfredo da Matta, both recognized by WHO for their specialized work in leprosy and dermatological neglected tropical diseases. Their support has focused on improving diagnosis, laboratory confirmation and case management of diseases including leprosy, cutaneous leishmaniasis and sporotrichosis, alongside other dermatological conditions of public health importance.
According to WHO, the two institutions provided highly specialized clinical and laboratory expertise through subregional and national trainings, workshops and dermatological campaigns aimed at strengthening frontline health systems. Physicians, laboratory technicians and other health personnel participated in practical, case-based training designed to improve early detection and diagnostic accuracy.
The centres introduced updated diagnostic algorithms, laboratory protocols and hands-on mentoring during field activities, helping countries improve referral systems between primary care services and specialist centres. WHO said this contributed to earlier detection, shorter diagnostic delays and stronger continuity of care for affected patients.
The work forms part of WHO’s broader Global Leprosy Strategy 2021–2030, which aims to accelerate progress toward zero leprosy, reduce disability caused by delayed diagnosis and interrupt transmission through earlier case identification and stronger surveillance systems.WHO said its own role focused on strategic coordination, ensuring that technical activities aligned with regional and global health frameworks.
The agency used its convening authority to mobilize ministries of health and partners while integrating the work into wider neglected tropical disease and communicable disease elimination strategies.It also oversaw systematic monitoring and documentation to ensure activities remained consistent with WHO standards and reporting mechanisms.
The organization described the arrangement as a combination of normative leadership and operational expertise, allowing field implementation to move beyond policy planning into practical delivery.“The centres’ technical capacity at country level accelerated progress toward elimination targets and strengthened credibility and responsiveness to national requests,” WHO said in its March 27 feature report.
WHO noted that while coordination could have been managed independently, implementation would have been significantly more limited without the specialized expertise of the collaborating centres, and much of the work would have remained theoretical rather than operationally effective.
A major lesson from the programme was the effectiveness of integrated skin screenings, where multiple dermatological conditions are assessed through a single clinical approach rather than disease-specific interventions.WHO said combining screenings for leprosy, cutaneous leishmaniasis, sporotrichosis and other skin-related neglected tropical diseases reduced stigma for patients and improved service uptake, particularly in vulnerable communities where fear of diagnosis often delays treatment.
The approach also strengthened the broader strategy of using skin examination as an entry point for neglected tropical disease control, allowing healthcare workers to identify multiple conditions through a unified platform.Through a series of national and subregional workshops and campaigns, countries across the Region of the Americas were able to reinforce diagnostic capacity and improve laboratory confirmation of suspected cases.
WHO said these activities helped standardize training materials in line with its global guidelines while increasing awareness among frontline workers about integrated management approaches.The collaborating centres also supported the development of stronger regional networks among clinicians and laboratory professionals, helping create a more coordinated technical community across borders.
This regional harmonization was seen as particularly important for countries with limited specialist capacity, where access to standardized protocols and technical cooperation can directly influence case outcomes.The programme’s outcomes align with the broader targets of the WHO Neglected Tropical Disease Road Map, which seeks to reduce the burden of neglected diseases through prevention, early diagnosis and integrated service delivery.
WHO said the collaboration directly supported programme objectives by accelerating early detection and contributing to interruption of transmission, moving countries closer to elimination milestones.Leprosy remains a public health concern in several parts of the Americas despite significant reductions in prevalence over recent decades.
According to WHO’s January 2026 leprosy fact sheet, continued delays in diagnosis remain one of the major barriers to elimination, particularly where health systems lack specialized diagnostic capacity.Cutaneous leishmaniasis and sporotrichosis also continue to present challenges in endemic areas, particularly among vulnerable populations with limited access to specialist dermatological care.
WHO said the collaboration offers further opportunities for expansion, particularly by extending integrated skin neglected tropical disease approaches to additional countries and developing multilingual regional training curricula through digital platforms.
There is also scope to deepen operational research on early detection strategies and strengthen laboratory networks across the region, particularly in underserved settings where diagnosis remains inconsistent.The organization said the experience in Brazil demonstrates how combining global strategy with country-level technical expertise can improve implementation and strengthen health systems beyond individual disease programmes.
By linking specialized dermatological knowledge with WHO’s policy coordination role, the partnership has become a model for how collaborating centres can support disease elimination efforts while building sustainable regional capacity.
