The personal collection of Dr Hubert Sansarricq includes material relevant to his work in Western Africa (1955-1968), at WHO (1972-1984), and since 1984.

The materials related to leprosy activities at all levels in French speaking countries in West Africa include technical instructions, reports, correspondence, forms, and photographs, etc relating to mass campaigns based on periodic examinations of the whole population and dapsone delivery by mobile circuits. There are reports, forms, and circulars, etc on leprosy activities in an area ("Secteur des Grandes Endémies") of Burkina Faso covering about 200 000 inhabitants with about 8 000 leprosy cases (1955-1958). There is the notebook and report on a six-month WHO fellowship for 1959, for training on leprosy (Spain, Belgium, Venezuela, Belgian Congo); and materials on training activities at the Institut Marchoux (Bamako, Mali) (1960-1963). There are reports on a detailed assessment of leprosy activities in Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal in 1961; a 1962 report on a WHO consultancy in Western Nigeria (three months) as well as lectures delivered by L M Bechelli, A Rotberg, J Languillon, and H Sansarricq at a WHO Interregional course on leprosy (three-week duration) at the Institut Marchoux; annual reports and other materials on leprosy control activities in Burkina Faso (150 000 patients) (1964-1968); and reports and presentations to annual Technical Conferences of OCCGE (Organisation de Coordination et de Coopération pour la Lutte contre les Grandes Endémies) (1960-1968).

The materials related to Dr Sansarricsq’s activities in the Leprosy Unit (LEP) in WHO, Geneva, during the period 1972-1984 include technical and administrative correspondence and documents. Those internal to WHO are those exchanged between LEP and other departments of WHO/HQ (notably Division of Communicable Diseases and TDR - Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases) and those exchanged with the WHO Regional Offices. This part of the collection also holds correspondence between LEP and members of the WHO Panel of Experts on Leprosy; members of IMMLEP and THELEP Scientific Working Groups and Steering Committees; voluntary organizations and donor agencies, specifically, the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation (including some annual requests submitted by LEP); ILEP and its member associations, UNICEF, etc; correspondence between LEP and WHO collaborating centres, eg correspondence related to the development of the OMSLEP information system, and to the first WHO supported project on molecular biology applied to M. leprae; reports by LEP officers on visits to Regional Offices, countries, research institutions, contributing agencies, etc; reports and papers related to the participation of LEP officers to scientific meetings, congresses and conferences (including in French-speaking countries); documents on the preparation of WHO meetings (meeting files) related to the 5th Expert Committee on Leprosy, 1976; the Study Group on Chemotherapy of Leprosy for Control programmes, 1981; the Study Group on Epidemiology of Leprosy in relation to control (1983); and the 6th Expert Committee on Leprosy, 1987. There are reports of all meetings of the WHO Expert Committee on Leprosy; reports of all meetings organized by WHO (HQ and Regional Offices) and meetings co-sponsored by other agencies (eg SMHF, ILEP, etc) on progress of MDT implementation from 1982 to date. There are documents related to TDR supported activities between 1974-1984. There are preparatory documents and all final reports of SWG and SC meetings for IMMLEP and THELEP, plus sometimes minutes of the same; leprosy sections of TDR annual reports; and reports on other TDR activities (eg research strengthening). There are reports and preparatory documents on various important meetings such as the meeting of investigators on immunological problems in leprosy research, New Delhi, 1972, and the workshop on leprosy chemotherapy, Bethesda, 1975.

The collection holds reports on WHO meetings on leprosy at regional and inter-regional levels for Tokyo (1958), Brazzaville (1959), Istanbul (1961), Cuernavaea, Mexico (1963), Kampala (1970), Aska, India (1970), and New Delhi (1975). It contains the WHO Guide to Leprosy Control for 1966, 1980, and 1989; and the World Health Assembly resolutions and statements of Chief, LEP, in WHA discussions.

As well, this collection contains press clippings on leprosy; correspondence and documents in preparation of International Leprosy Congresses for 1963, 1973, 1978, 1984 and 1988; Proceedings of International Leprosy Congresses from 1953 to date, except in 1968; reports and documents on Joint Conferences on Leprosy of the US-Japan Co-operative Medical Science Program in 1974, 1975, 1977; and reports on workshops sponsored by SMHF in Bangkok (1976), Manila (1977), Jakarta (1977), Bangkok (1979), Kathmandu (1979), Taipei (1980), Bangkok (1982), Kuala Lumpur (1982), and Singapore (1983).

Materials related to various activities since 1984 include documents pertaining to Dr Sansarricq’s participation in the "Groupe d'études lèpre" at the Institut Pasteur, Paris, France (1980-1989); an independent evaluation of the "India National Leprosy Eradication Programme" (including assessment of field activities) (1985-1987); an assessment of many projects submitted to the Ciba-Geigy Leprosy Fund from 1987 until 1999; his co-ordination of the book "La Lèpre", pp384, Paris, Ellipses (1992-1995); his work as President for the "Association des Léprologues de Langue Française" (1992-1996); and his co-ordination of a report on the Development and Implementation of WHO/MDT, over the last twenty-five years (in progress) (2001-2002).

Entry made April-June 2002