India is making progress and new leprosy cases are declining year after year. With the whole of government, whole of society support, synergy and cooperation, we can achieve the target of Leprosy Mukt Bharat by 2027, three years ahead of the SDG”. This was stated by Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya during his address at the event to observe the National Anti-Leprosy Day, on 30th January.
World Leprosy Day
- World Leprosy Day is observed every year on the last Sunday of January. In India, it is observed on 30th January every year, coinciding with the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
- The theme of this year was “Let us fight Leprosy and make Leprosy a history”.
About Leprosy (Hansen Disease)
- Leprosy is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) which still occurs in more than 120 countries, with more than 200 000 new cases reported every year.
- Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae.
- The disease predominantly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Left untreated, the disease may cause progressive and permanent disabilities.
- The bacteria are transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth during close and frequent contact with untreated cases.
- Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT). The currently recommended treatment regimen consists of three drugs: dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine.
Leprosy in India
- The prevalence rate of leprosy has come down from 0.69 per 10,000 population in 2014-15 to 0.45 in 2021-22. Further, annual new case detection rate per 100,000 population has come down from 9.73 in 2014-15 to 5.52 in 2021-22.
- India achieved the goal set by the National Health Policy, 2002 of elimination of leprosy as a public health problem, defined as less than 1 case per 10,000 population, at the National level in December 2005.
- National Strategic Plan & Roadmap for Leprosy (2023-27) and National Guidelines for Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Surveillance in leprosy were also released during the event along with launch of Nikusth 2.0 Portal.
- Nikusth 2.0 is an integrated portal for leprosy case management under National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP). It will aid in efficient data recording, analyzing and reporting of the data in the form of indicators and a real time dashboard at center, state and district levels.
