Md. Sazedul Islam :
World Leprosy Day (WLD) is annually observed around the world, including in Bangladesh, on the last Sunday of January. The day was initiated in 1954 by French philanthropist and writer, Raoul Follereau, as a way to raise global awareness of this ancient disease and call attention to the fact that it can be prevented, treated and cured.
Later, the initiative to observe the day was undertaken by International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations (ILEP), a federation of 14 international NGOs.
WLD is aimed at informing and educating the public on the facts of leprosy to reduce the stigma and facilitate inclusion of affected people in society.
Leprosy cases are now detected in countries like Brazil, India, Nepal, Mozambique, Angola, Congo and Tanzania along with Bangladesh. Leprosy is a health problem in Bangladesh though it is curable with regular and timely treatment and its test and treatment is available for free in our country.
According to The Leprosy Mission International-Bangladesh (TLMI-B), annually, on an average over 3,000 new cases are detected in the country in the recent years. There are about 34,000 to 35,000 people in the country with deformity caused by the disease at the moment. Those who turned disabled due to leprosy should be rehabilitated so that they can live with proper dignity.
TLMI-B said it is possible to check the disability, caused by leprosy, if it is detected at early stage. Hence, massive awareness campaign is needed in this regard. It should be remembered that the disability is the main cause of all social and physical problems. So, it is urgently needed to bring the affected person under treatment at early stage. Hence, the following measures need to be adopted:
Field level health workers of the government should be imparted training on leprosy, massive awareness campaign on eradicating leprosy-related prejudice, giving training to workers of other service-providing private organizations, it is imperative to impart training to upazila level medical officers for increasing leprosy case detection at early stage. Sincere cooperation from the mass media (both electronic and print) is needed in the anti-leprosy campaign.
We can derive benefits if we can involve Community Health Care Providers in leprosy control programme. They under community health clinic can play a vital role in early case detection if leprosy issue is added in their foundation training and separate training on leprosy is arranged. Leprosy is a disease that the patients do not feel any problem in his-her body in early stage, someone needs to notice or inform them that he has some symptom.
Leprosy is an air-borne disease transmitted by minute respiratory droplets. The disease leads to gradual loss of nerve endings, fingers, toes etc. This results in isolation, discrimination and fear among the healthy. Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to humankind. It is also known as Hansen’s disease, named after Norwegian physician, Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, who debunked the prevailing notion of the time that leprosy was a hereditary disease. He showed that the disease had a bacterial cause instead, said doctors.
For thousands of years, people with leprosy have been stigmatized and considered to be at the extreme margins of the society. The aim of the WLD is to change this attitude and increase public awareness of the fact that leprosy can now be easily prevented and cured.
Leprosy stigma still exists in our country. People look at this disease as a curse.
Leprosy is not hereditary, let alone a divine punishment. Transmission is believed to be airborne, through close and frequent contact with an infected, untreated person. But leprosy is very hard to develop; most people have a built-in immunity to it and have nothing to fear, said doctors. Leprosy is an infectious disease of the skin and nerves which, if not diagnosed and treated quickly, can result in debilitating disabilities. The effects of leprosy are exacerbated by the negative stigma surrounding the disease, said TLMI-B.
Stigma is a serious obstacle to case finding and to the effectiveness of treatment, which are the major concern of disease control programme.
In countries like Bangladesh, people are still subjected to discrimination and social exclusion simply because they are, or have previously been, affected by leprosy.
The WLD educates those who are ignorant about the diseases and attempts to demolish the stigma associated with it. By educating the public about leprosy, we can eradicate stigma and create a new environment in which more people will seek treatment. The WLD hopes to make states formulate policies that will disseminate information about leprosy, the fact that the disease is wholly curable.
The WLD is aimed at encouraging the mass media to spread awareness about leprosy, to portray pictures that do not impinge on the sensibilities or dignity of people with leprosy, raising awareness of the skills and inherent talents of people with leprosy and providing them with a gainful living. Also aimed at providing access to quality medical care and encouraging health authorities to improve healthcare practices.
We need to work together to stop transmission, prevent disability and break the stigma from leprosy. We cannot build a better Bangladesh without addressing the issue of leprosy.
Though curable with regular treatment, leprosy continues to cause sufferings to our people. There are only three leprosy hospitals in our country, but these are not capable of providing complete services. Treatment services, including medicine, are not equally available in all parts of the country.
Leprosy victims are being deprived of getting proper treatment facilities due to lack of qualified doctors and medical equipment.
International assistance to leprosy control programme is decreasing while the attention, given by the Bangladesh government, is not encouraging. The leprosy issue has failed to get the proper attention from the government, which is hindering our leprosy control programme.
It a matter of concern that leprosy control programmes are being slowed down at the field level due to lack of fund and trained employees.
Education on leprosy, offered by our medical colleges, is not adequate. Hence, our country has failed to produce required medical professionals to handle the leprosy issue.
Few NGOs, working in the field with their limited resources amid dwindling of foreign fund, find it tough to handle the task. They said that the government should come up with necessary steps, including allocating adequate fund, for the leprosy control programme. Steps need to be taken for inclusion of leprosy victims in our society.
At its 15th session (Sept 13-Oct 1, 2010), the UN human rights council adopted a resolution encouraging governments to eliminate discrimination against people affected by leprosy- and their family members. Our Constitution also called for ensuring the fundamental rights of all the citizens. So, any discrimination and injustice to anyone is unacceptable. It is upto all of us to stand beside the leprosy victims for establishing their rights.
Collaboration between the government and NGOs can bring a good result in the leprosy control programme.
On the occasion of the WLD, we along with rest of the world should take a vow to materialize its objectives, which would go a long way in achieving the success in the leprosy control programme. It is hoped that all concerned including the government, being imbued with the spirit of the WLD, would play their due role for freeing Bangladesh from leprosy.
