Social Appropriation of Knowledge and its contributions to the prevention of cutaneous leishmaniasis in rural contexts

Abstract

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Reuse permitted under CC BYNC. No commercial reuse. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. BACKGROUND Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected infectious endemic disease that is transmitted through the bite of a vector insect (sandfly) of the Lutzomyia genus, 2 typical of rural geographical territories, 4 and causes disfiguring skin ulcers and disabilities. It is estimated that CL affects between 600 000 and 1 000 000 people a year around the world, mainly in the America s, the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East and Central Asia. Eighteen of the 21 countries that make up the Latin American (LA) region are considered endemic areas for this neglected tropical disease. Colombia is one of the countries that reports the majority of global cases with 6161 in 2020 and has the second highest number of cases in the Americas, after Brazil. 6 This disease is associated with poor socioeconomic conditions, low coverage of access to basic sanitation services and difficulties in accessing health services. Despite the various efforts of public health systems and leishmaniasis surveillance and control programmes, the implemented strategies are still challenged with being timely, efficient and sustainable. Additionally, barriers caused by geographical conditions and sociocultural aspects such as unawareness about the subject persist. 9 This scenario highlights the importance of proposing situated initiatives, based on the communities in favour of strengthening Social Appropriation of Knowledge (SAK) processes for the prevention and control of the disease.