The Government is all set to launch an effective campaign at the block level to meet the target of leprosy elimination by December 2005. This was announced by the Union Health Secretary Shri J V R Prasada Rao in Goa today.
Shri Rao was addressing a press conference on the opening day of Meeting of State Health Secretaries on Leprosy Elimination. The two day meeting is being held with the support from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Shri Rao said a team of medical personnel, health officers and social workers will carry out a house-to-house survey and put the identified affected persons on a treatment course. He said the government has pulled out all stops to bring down the prevalence rate to 1 per 10,000 and described the results so far as remarkably successful.
The Director General Health Services, Dr. S P Aggarwal pointed out that leprosy endemicity is not uniform all over the country-17 states have already reached the level of elimination. He said nearly 836 blocks in 170 districts of 13 states had prevalence rate more than 5 per 10,000 (some have 10 per 10,000) and this is why it has become important to now come down from nation to states to districts to blocks.
The WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, who also heads the Japan-based Nippon Foundation, said India’s gain in leprosy elimination have been impressive but by international standards, challenges remain. Mr. Sasakawa said the message that needs to be driven home is that leprosy is curable, that there are medicines available everywhere and free of cost and that nobody should be discriminated against for suffering from this disease.
The WHO representative to India Dr. S J Habayeb was also present on the occasion.
The review meeting of State Health Secretaries is expected to help in finalizing the next 15 months Action Plan to ensure that the goal of elimination by December 2005 is met.
(Release ID :4126)