10th meeting of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF) in Delhi.

THE Tenth season of (GAELF) was held regarding the 10th meeting of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF) in New Delhi recently. The goal of the conference was to create a future free of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF);  kind of tropical disease first recorded in Egypt. Formed in 2000, the Alliance brings together experts in the field of LF from across the globe to discuss progress and challenges of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) launched by WHO. Being held in India for the first time, the 10th GAELF meeting will celebrate the achievements of almost 20 years of GPELF and the achievement of 11 countries that have eliminated LF. The meeting focused on increasing advocacy, political, financial and technical support for the global program to eliminate LF.

The conference was addressed by Dr. C P Ramachandran. During the conference Dr. Ramachandran focused on the cure of LF. He has all this time and studied towards the cure and ailment of tropical and parasitical diseases including LF. Earlier there were cures for eliminating the disease and now due to Dr. Ramachandran and his team the disease can actually be stopped from germinating and can be removed and cured from its roots. He said "I feel tremendous about the success of the treatment and with GAELF we aim to make the world free form Lymphatic Filariasis."

In a brief interaction with BW PEOPLE Dr. Ramachandran during GAELF he told us about how tropical diseases like LF are ancestral and have been affecting households,families and careers for over a hundred years. A disfiguring disease like this is said to be shameful and kept hidden which also creates a social difference. Dr. Ramachandran also shed some light on their aim to completely eliminate tropical diseases like LF.

Earlier Two drug treatment was used for killing the larva that was responsible for budding the LF virus but because of Dr. Ramachandran and his team now a Three drug treatment has become more prevalent for treating LF which not only kills Larva but even a full grown virus and finishes it from its roots and prevents it from growing again and thus helps in recovering of the patient completely.

Now, Dr. Ramachandran and his team aims to eradicate this disease fully from all the tropical regions in the next 20 years and make the world an ‘ LF-FREE’ place to live in so that people no more have to face or go through this disfiguring disease and any kind of medical or social difference.