Leprosy work is more than just finding new cases and treating them with antibiotics (MDT).
Prevention of impairments and disabilities as well as rehabilitation of people who have experienced social dislocation and stigma are critical components of TLM and ILEP’s declared strategy to achieve a world without leprosy. Many leprosy experts argue that leprosy is “a disease apart”, not because of its infectiousness but because of the impairments and deformities it causes.
We know:
- Since 1981 over 14 million people have been treated with Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT)
- 30% approximately have irreversible disability
- over 4 million people have permanent impairments
- over 2 million of these have visible disabilities
- Around 100,000 people evry year develop irreversible deformities and/or disabilities
But how many leprosy-affected people are there in the world today? According to a Newsbrief from the Nippon Foundation, there are tens of millions of leprosy victims. They quote:
“U.N. Human Rights Commission
On 11 August 2005, at its 57th annual meeting, the United Nations Sub Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights passed a resolution concerning the human rights of those who have been affected by leprosy.
An excerpt states:
“….tens of millions of people suffer not only from leprosy as a disease which is scientifically and medically proven to be curable and manageable, but also from political, legal, economic or social discrimination and isolation as a result of misunderstanding and indifference, and lack of legislative or administrative measures to prohibit such discrimination and to protect and remedy the victims.”
Let us welcome their resolution to prepare a comprehensive study on discrimination against leprosy victims and their families and their strong request to Governments to act to remedy this through appropriate legislation, education, and anti-discrimination measures.
WHO, TLM and others are undertaking research projects to accurately assess the true burden of leprosy and to validate current leprosy statistics and data, especially in India.
