- Union Minister for Health has asked the Ministers of Law, Minister of Social Justice and Chief Ministers for amending 108 discriminatory laws against persons affected by Leprosy.
- He stated that the National Leprosy Eradication Programme(NLEP) has achieved enormous success in leprosy control particularly in the last four decades.
- He also stated that India is committed for justice and equality of all individuals including persons with disabilities as per the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
- He has also mentioned about the WHO’s Global Leprosy Strategy 2016 – 2020.The strategy aims at (a)zero children with leprosy-affected disabilities by 2020 and (b)reduction of new patients diagnosed with leprosy-related deformities to >1 per million population.
- Leprosy also known as Hansen’s disease is a chronic neuro-muscular disorder.It is caused by several strains of Mycobacterium leprae.It has a long incubation period which makes detection difficult.Leprosy can be cured with Multi-Drug Therapy(MDT).
- India had launched the National Leprosy Eradication Programme in 1983 to eliminate leprosy through early detection, effective treatment and increased awareness.
- In 2005,India achieved the goal of elimination of leprosy as a public health problem defined as less than 1 case per 10,000 population.
