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Absent Presences: an ethnographic study of the uncounted lives of people affected by leprosy in Latin America

Project description

A closer look at the elimination of leprosy

In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the elimination of leprosy as a global public health problem. The number of affected people has decreased dramatically since the 1980s due to the advent of multidrug therapy. However, such extraordinary decrease might be partially explained by the increase in misdiagnosed cases. As some researchers have argued, the announcement of the global elimination of leprosy has caused the closing down of awareness campaigns as well as the progressive loss of expertise in diagnosing leprosy. As a consequence, people affected by leprosy are being overlooked worldwide. The EU-funded Absent Presences project will conduct an ethnographic research targeting the lives of uncounted people affected by leprosy in Latin America and, by doing so, examine the impact of WHO’s announcement in this specific context.

Coordinator

FREIE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN
Net EU contribution
€ 174 806,40
Address
Kaiserswerther Strasse 16-18
14195 Berlin
Germany

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Region
Berlin Berlin Berlin
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Other funding
€ 0,00