Targetting Leprosy
THE government has reiterated its commitment to eliminate leprosy from the country within
the targeted time. In a message on the occasion of the 50th World Leprosy Day, Prime
Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand said that with the multi-drug therapy in practice, the
country would soon get rid of the disease that has been a public health problem for long.
The malady, which results in physical deformity if not treated in time, is still largely
considered by the superstitious to be the divine punishment for the misdeeds one committed
in one's previous life. For that reason, those afflicted by leprosy, especially in the
rural areas, are looked down upon and are segregated from the community. Therefore, in
order to escape the so-called curse and the ensuing social shame, the patients tend to
hide their disease which, against the prevailing misconception, is incommunicable as well
as curable. Such a tendency to conceal the ailment comes in the way of eradicating the
disease. That the government has been providing free medical treatment to the patients in
all the 75 districts of the Kingdom, the number of the patients is expected to decline.
However, the lack of the health workers trained specifically for the treatment of leprosy
appears to be hindering the progress. In such a scenario, the health authorities need to
ensure that there are adequate numbers of health workers in all the health centres and
hospitals. Yet, in a country like Nepal where ignorance and false beliefs prevail in most
of the rural parts, greater emphasis needs to be given on creating public awareness about
the disease. Media as well as volunteer mobilisation could play important roles in such
awareness creating campaigns. The country folks must first be convinced that the disease
does not transmit by physical contacts and that it can be cured with regular intake of the
prescribed medicines. Once the people are familiar with the real characteristics of the
disease, the medical practitioners will find it easier to diagnose the disease and treat
the patients, paving way for achieving the goal of eradicating leprosy.
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