Health and leprosy conferences: sayings and silences about the neglected disease and its stigmas

Abstract

Seen as a serious public health problem in different locations, leprosy is marked by taboos and carried by stigma. It is a neglected disease and made up of several explanations throughout history, which update living marks of the past, including in the implementation of public policies. Health conferences are spaces for society to participate in the definition of policies, aiming to impact the care plan of different illnesses. The objective of this article is to understand the relevance and perspectives pointed to public policies for the care of people affected by leprosy present in the municipal, state, and national stages of the 16th National Health Conference. This is a documentary research based on the final reports and in the wake of the ascending process of the 16th National Health Conference. The results show the lack of visibility of leprosy in the reports of the municipal and state stages of the conference and, in the national stage, the record has a double emphasis: producing visibility about the disease and its context, claiming to update social mobilization around it and permanent education actions aimed at workers.