LEPROSY

Jan. 31, 2019

The Supreme Court has come out with a number of directions to end discrimination against leprosy-afflicted persons, while hearing a PIL, which alleged that the government was not taking enough steps to eradicate the disease.

Recent directions by Supreme Court to Centre and states:

Conduct Periodic National Surveys to determine the prevalence rate.
Formulate a comprehensive community-based rehabilitation scheme which shall cater to all basic needs of the leprosy-afflicted persons and their families.
Integrate treatment of leprosy into general health care, which will usher in a no-isolation method in general wards and OPD services.
Give wide publicity to the activities of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP).
Discontinue using “frightening images” of people afflicted with leprosy in the awareness programmes and instead use “positive images of cured persons sharing their experiences of being cured of leprosy”.
Ensure that drugs for management of leprosy and its complications are available free of cost and that they do not go out of stock in Primary Health Centres (PHCs).