Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau (AIFO)

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Dr Francesco Colizzi, AIFO's president, while addressing the AIFO General Assembly in May 2008 said, "Human civilization can be observed from the viewpoint of leprosy. Until very recent times, all the societies that we have, have always isolated persons affected with leprosy. In every corner of the world, leprosy affected persons have been confined to remote and isolated places, chased, avoided and even killed. Tommaso da Celano wrote of a youth from Assisi, the future Saint Francis, who overcame his revulsion to greet leprosy affected persons with a hug and a kiss. At the end of the XIX century, Dr. Armauer Hansen discovered Mycobacterium Leprae and a Belgian priest, Father Damien, who died of the disease in Molokai, a Hawaiian island that was a colony of leprosy affected persons, celebrated a mass, addressing to “we the lepers”.

Later, Raoul Follereau, a young journalist, would discover the leprosy affected persons and become their passionate voice throughout his life. In other words, leprosy has always challenged man, and his questions were not only concerned with cures. These questions were about civilization, not about a specific civilization, but they were questions about the possibility of a universal global civilization, the civilization of love."

AIFO originated as Amici dei Lebbrosi (Friends of leprosy affected persons) in 1961 as an organisation under the Comboni fathers, inspired by the message of Raoul Follereau. Its motto was "Against leprosy and against all leprosies". Today, almost 40 years later, fight against leprosy, rehabilitation of persons affected with leprosy and fight against stigma and discrimination against persons affected with the disease continue to be priority areas for AIFO.

Coordinated work: Since the beginning AIFO/Italy worked in coordination with other international organisations working for the fight against leprosy and united under ILEP. Thus AIFO works in close collaboration with the following organisations of ILEP - American leprosy missions (ALM), Order of Malta (CIOMAL), Deutsche Lepra und Tuberculose Hilfe (DAHW), Damien Foundation Belgium (DFB), Fairmed Switzerland, Fondation Luxemburgeoise Raoul Follereau (FL), Fondation Raoul Follereau France (FRF), LEPRA Health in Action UK, Netherlands Leprosy Relief (NLR), Fontilles Lucha Contra la Lepra (SF), Secours aux Lépreux Canada (SLC), Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation Japan (SMHF) and The Leprosy Mission International (TLMI).

At the same time, over the past years, AIFO has developed strong partnership with the organisations of persons affected with leprosy that come under IDEA International.

Finally, AIFO works in collaboration with Leprosy unit of World Health Organisation (WHO).

Transformation of AIFO's work for leprosy over the years: Since the very beginning, AIFO's work for the fight against leprosy has been according to the national and international guidelines. For this reason, AIFO was one of the founders of ILEP, the International Federation of Anti-leprosy organisations and has worked in close cooperation with the directives of World Health Organisation (WHO).

Till the nineteen eighties, most of the newly diagnosed cases of leprosy were treated under programmes run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and by missionaries. During nineteen nineties, the Governments have taken increasing responsibility for the diagnosis and cure of leprosy. Thus, AIFO's work, almost entirely with NGOs and missionaries in the beginning, is increasingly in cooperation with Governments. At the same time, many health projects run by NGOs and missionaries continue to play an important role in AIFO's work, especially for "care after cure", for prevention of disabilities, and for medical and socio-economic rehabilitation of persons affected with leprosy.

Another change has been regarding the nature of anti-leprosy programmes. While in the past majority of AIFO's support was for vertical leprosy control programmes, today it is usually integrated with primary health care.

Beneficiaries of AIFO's work for leprosy affected persons: In 2008, leprosy-projects supported by AIFO benefited 109,021 persons affected with leprosy including more than 16,000 new cases of leprosy.

Most of the new cases of leprosy were diagnosed and treated in national and state level programmes run by Governments in countries like India, Brazil, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Angola, China, etc.

At the same time, most of the "care after cure" activities and work related to disabilities caused by leprosy was under smaller projects run by missionaries and NGOs in countries like India, Brazil, Myanmar, China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea Bissau, etc.

Since late nineteen eighties, AIFO also supports community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes targeted all the different groups of persons with disabilities, including persons with leprosy related disabilities.

Geographic Distribution of New cases of leprosy diagnosed and treated in AIFO supported projects (2007)

To learn more about leprosy: AIFO website provides lot of learning materials, free online courses, research reports and meeting reports about leprosy under the resources section.