An enhanced effort, renewed commitment and an inclusive approach are needed to end leprosy that continues to afflict thousands of people every year in the region, says the regional head of the World Health Organization on Sunday.
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO’s Regional Director for South-East Asia, said leprosy affected 212, 000 more people worldwide in 2015, of them 60 percent alone were in India while rests were mainly from Brazil and Indonesia.
“Of the new cases 8.9 percent were children and 6.7 percent ended up with visible deformities,” she said in a message tailored to mark the World Leprosy Day observed each year on last Sunday of the month January.
WHO says despite being eliminated globally as a public health problem in 2000, leprosy continues to mar the lives of individuals, and impacts families and communities. Though present numbers are a fraction of what was reported a decade ago, they are unacceptable as an effective treatment for leprosy remained at hands since 1980s.
Leprosy, a fully curable disease, is caused by a slow growing bacterium that can lead to disabilities if not diagnosed and treated early. So, early detection is key to achieve this target, alongside scaling up interventions to prevent leprosy transmission, says the UN organization.
Poonam says a multi-sectoral approach is also needed to fight against stigma attached to leprosy. Health authorities need to reach out to leprosy-affected persons and communities in their programming.
She also came up with more suggestions that include: laws and regulations that help discrimination against persons suffering from leprosy should be repealed, while NGOs and civil society organizations should be given right space in the elimination campaigns.
“As long as leprosy transmission and its associated disabilities exist, so will stigma and discrimination and vice-versa,” observes Poonam, adding the World Leprosy Day is an opportunity for every national government in the region to fight the disease through renewed initiatives.
WHO’s South-East Asia region includes: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
