SMHF views it more appropriate to deal with HD, not as a separate and independent phenomenon, but rather within the context of all health issues of developing countries. The foundation believes that final responsibility for public health issues should rest with national governments and their people. Therefore, it believes in coordinating its resources and expertise in such a way as to assist the efforts of the countries themselves to deal with the issues. With this concept as its guiding principle, SMHF collaborates with governments, international agencies such as WHO, and with NGOs such as the International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Association (ILEP). More recently SMHF has been partnering with the people and networks of those who have personally experienced the disease.

At the 44th World Health Assembly of 1991, WHO member states unanimously pledged to eliminate HD as a public health problem by the year 2000, defining “elimination" as the reduction of prevalence to a level below one case per 10,000 in the population. WHO and its partners announced in May 2001 that the overall target of the elimination of HD as a public health problem has been attained at global level, but at the national level there were a dozen or so countries still to achieve the target. WHO and its member countries thus made 2005 the year for every member country to achieve this elimination goal. At the beginning of 206, out of 122 countries committing to the elimination at the onset, 115 have achieved the goal. 7 countries have yet to attain the goal. However, accelerated integration of leprosy services into general health services and redoubled efforts by the partners are making significant progress toward reaching the elimination goal in every country.

Endemic Countries
1985 (122 countries)	2007 (5 countries)

SMHF is very proud of the fact that the free distribution of MDT, made possible by US$50 million contribution from The Nippon Foundation (TNF) to WHO, has served as a corner stone of this successful global HD elimination programme. Since 2000 this has been succeeded by Novartis Pharmaseuticals and continues to be a vital basis of the global HD programme. It is expected that many of the remaining 7 countries - Brazil, Nepal, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, United Republic of Tanzania - will also achieve the leprosy elimination within a few years after 2005.

The partners for elimination of HD (endemic countries, WHO, TNF/SMHF and NGOs including ILEP and Novartis Pharmaceutical) have confirmed their commitment to sustain and consolidate the achievement and further reduce the number of HD cases in the years to come.

HD as a medical and public health issue has been very successfully addressed. However the age-old misconceptions attached to this disease continue to harm the people who have been cured. WHO states that, since 1980s, more than 14 million people have been cured globally, but a large majority of these people still live in fear of social discrimination and are very often marginalised by society.

The Atlas of Leprosy of Leprosy is a pictorial manual for frontline health workers and volunteers, to support them in detection, diagnosis and treatment activities of clinical HD. The atlas is now available in 7 languages: English, Portuguese, French, Hindi, Spanish, Indonesian and Nepali.