Gorontalo Provincial Government Ready to Accelerate Leprosy Elimination

Gorontalo Governor Gusnar Ismail has declared the province’s readiness to accelerate leprosy elimination, following the signing of a national commitment marking a step forward for the region in tackling the spread of the infectious disease. “I have signed the commitment to accelerate leprosy elimination at the National Leprosy Conference, themed ‘Accelerating Leprosy Elimination: Indonesia’s Commitment, Global Collaboration’. This signing was carried out together with 37 governors across Indonesia,” Governor Gusnar Ismail said in a statement received in Gorontalo on Friday. He stated that the signing represents the local government’s commitment to supporting the acceleration of leprosy elimination through strengthened policies, funding, and cross-sector collaboration. Anang, a representative, noted that his presence was part of efforts to ensure the agreed commitment can be promptly followed up at the regional level. According to him, the commitment includes several key points, such as personally leading all elements of society in accelerating leprosy elimination, ensuring the issuance of a Governor’s Regulation and a Regional Action Plan for leprosy along with its strategies and performance indicators. Furthermore, it involves establishing leprosy elimination as a priority in regional planning and budgeting documents, reducing stigma against people affected by leprosy, and guaranteeing access to health services for all sufferers. It also includes ensuring the availability of adequate and sustainable human resources, encouraging district and city governments through continuous supervision, and achieving a leprosy case detection target of 70 per cent. Anang added that the Governor immediately instructed coordination with the Head of the Gorontalo Regional Development Planning, Research and Development Agency to ensure budget support for the leprosy and tuberculosis elimination programmes is included in regional planning and budgeting documents. This directive serves as a tangible form of the Gorontalo Provincial Government’s commitment to ensuring that infectious disease elimination programmes, which must be prioritised, receive sustainable policy and financial support. “The signing of this commitment is clear evidence that Gorontalo is ready to take an active role in accelerating leprosy elimination through joint efforts with all stakeholders,” Anang said. The Governor’s directive strengthens the mandate for all regional apparatus to move quickly in integrating leprosy and tuberculosis elimination programmes into regional development policies. Through this shared commitment, the Gorontalo Provincial Government is optimistic that the leprosy elimination target can be achieved gradually and sustainably.