Event Report: International Leprosy Congress 2022 Showcasing Effective Support
The 21st International Leprosy Congress (ILC 2022) was organized as a hybrid event by Indian Association of Leprologists (IAL); Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL); and National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP), under the auspices of International Leprosy Association (ILA), at HITEX Exhibition Center,
HICC Novotel, Hyderabad, India, from November 8-11, 2022. Highlights...
ILC 2022, an important event held in various parts of the world to bring key stakeholders in the field of leprocy together to discuss new knowledge and share experiences, was themed ‘Better Knowledge—Early Diagnosis—Improved Care’. Elaborating on the host city and response, Dr Narasimha Rao, President, IAL, and Organizing Secretary, 21st International Leprosy Congress, stated, "Hyderabad is one of the most desired tourist destinations. It is cosmopolitan and well-connected. Hence, the delegates were more than willing to travel to the city. We had a total of around 1,000 delegates of which 400 were international delegates scattered across all five continents. We received an overwhelming response online as well and had around 500 online delegates."
A Hybrid Setting
The Hybrid Congress for physical delegates and e-delegates offered an opportunity for more than 110 hours of scientific deliberations. The four-day planned schedule of the congress included Web-based, Plenary, and Breakout sessions, preceded by pre- and post-conference meetings. Dr Rao commented, "Hybrid conferences came in only after COVID-19, which itself is a novelty. This helped circumvent issues like travel costs and travel time. Online conferences give participants the freedom to join remotely at a considerably lower cost. We also made sure that the conference was spread across four days, and we chose November as it is a conducive time in India—the weather is neither too hot nor too cold. Post-COVID, everyone wants to travel and wants an excuse to travel."
He shared the thought process behind the theme: "We need to refocus on these three things to bridge the gap: better knowledge, early diagnosis, and improved care. There exists a certain degree of knowledge and related literature, but we need to improve it to a level where we can help patients in a better way. Early diagnosis is important as it averts the possibility of deformity. Improved care is important, and it is important to pay
attention to the quality of care being provided."
Mentorship Program and Research
The Scientific Committee of ILC 2022 initiated the Abstract Mentor Programme (AMP) to help leprosy healthcare providers (HCP) and researchers improve their abstracts before submitting them. This increases the chance that their work will be presented at the congress. In this regard, Dr Rao explained, "This congress is not for doctors alone. It is also for patients afflicted with leprosy and leprosy workers (field workers). A lot of the conference delegates are leprosy-affected patients. Leprosy is a disease that does not always lead to deformity. Ninety-five percent of the patients are normal and do not exhibit physical deformities. It will go away like any other disease if proper treatment is taken. But the stigma, worry, and anxiety make people uncomfortable. Such people are also a part of this congress."
Stressing one of the key benefits of AMP, he elaborated, "A lot of them are not conversant in English. But since this congress is in English and presentations are made in English, a need was felt to mentor those who needed language aid to do away with language and convention barriers. So, there are individuals working voluntarily with us who help non-native English speakers and speakers of other languages structure their abstracts of
research papers and presentations so that they can be a part of the congress."
Dr Rao concluded, “We do an event, hoping it will bring about some change. But events alone cannot bring about a change. One of the biggest advantages of an event is that it brings people together and facilitates
dialogue. Networking is a big benefit. We hope the dialogues percolate into government policies that will help leprosy patients and workers."
"We do an event, hoping it will bring about some change. But events alone cannot bring about a change. One of the biggest advantages of an event is that it brings people together and facilitates dialogue. Networking is a big benefit. We hope the dialogues percolate into government policies that will help leprosy patients and workers."
Dr Narasimha Rao
President, IAL, and
Organizing Secretary
21st International Leprosy Congress