The opening of the ‘New Face for Leprosy’ exhibition at The Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine in Munich, December 2024, received an excellent response.
The idea for the exhibition was developed from a conversation between Camilla Rothe and, when we were teaching the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Nagasaki University, Japan with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The course was attended by students from around the world.
The Institute is known for holding regular photography exhibitions and we were delighted when they agreed to host ‘A New Face for Leprosy’.
Compiled alongside Camilla Rothe, Judith Eckstein and photographer Tom Bradley, the exhibition features 31 photographs of people affected from across India and Bangladesh. The project aims to dispel common myths by focusing on the positive stories of people affected living normal lives with jobs and families.
The event was opened by Prof Michael Hoelscher.Tom and I spoke about the need for new images and stories to continue to communicate the reality of this forgotten disease and challenge the myths and perceptions which continue to this day. Dr August Stich from Wurzburg University Hospital and DAHW German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief spoke about leprosy, followed by Saskia Kreibich from DAHW German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief, who discussed the need for new tools to diagnose leprosy. Prof. Gisela Bretzel, Head of the Microbiology Lab , talked about the challenges of using laboratory tests to diagnose leprosy. The Tropical Institute is now its own institute within Munich University and the event celebrated this.
In a larger reception area, I spoke to around 100 visitors to the exhibitionabout how I became interested in leprosy as a teenager volunteering in a leprosy hospital in India in 1975. There are still challenges in diagnosing and treating patients, despite there being effective and free antibiotics. People affected and their families continue to experience significant stigma following their diagnosis. Tom spoke about his perspective on photographing people impacted by leprosy and showed how the project had developed over time with images and stories.
Evelyne Leandro, a Brazilian woman who lives in Berlin talked about her experience of being diagnosed and treated with leprosy in Germany. Her diagnosis was delayed because doctors in Germany rarely see patients with leprosy. She was treated in Berlin and experienced adverse effects from the antibiotics including inflammatory complications called 'reactions'. She also had pain in her joints as part of her disease. She now works with DAHW to help promotethe diagnosis of leprosy and to reduce stigma of the disease and has written a book about having leprosy, The Living Death. She talked about the need for photography to help make the diseases less stigmatising.
Visitors were able to hear the stories about people affected by scanning a QR code.. I was thrilled to see people so engaged with the photos and stories and we talked enthusiastically about taking the pictures and capturing people's experiences of leprosy.
Diana Lockwood
Click here to find out more about the New Face for Leprosy project and view a selection of inspirational images and real life stories.
