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Category: Blog

Leprosy new case detection figures: Is there a missing link somewhere?

National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) of the Central Leprosy Division, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India, in its annual report (published quite recently) says 126,164 new leprosy cases were detected in India during the period 2017-18

What ails India’s leprosy eradication programme?

With one person being diagnosed with leprosy every four minutes in India, the country accounts for 60% of the global leprosy caseload. Leprosy is fast becoming a growing public health menace in India.

Information at your fingertips: Details of various govt schemes for the welfare of persons with disability in one place

Here’s a publication (compendium) by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, giving detailed information about various schemes for the welfare of persons with disability.

Here’s is an amazing woman who challenged all odds

Today is International Women’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate women – all women – for who they are. Here, we celebrate a woman – an amazing woman – who is an inspiration to many.

26-year-old Mamta Gulabrao Kubade had no hope in life. She had met with an accident when she was eight years old, and that left her leg burnt. It resulted in deformity in her lower limb. Despite her disability, she completed her graduation. Job opportunities were rare and she had no confidence to seek out one. Confined to her home in Kothara village of Maharashtra, her days were dreary and nights insomnious. Her self-esteem plummeted to a new low every day.

Demystifying a highly misunderstood disease – leprosy

Leprosy is the oldest infectious disease in human history – researchers believe that leprosy appears in an Egyptian Papyrus document written around 1550 B.C. This ancient disease thrives in the 21st century with over 2,00, 000 new cases detected in 150 countries in 2017.
Even today, when leprosy is curable, the age-old stigma attached to it has not been cured. Stigma is a reality in the lives of the people affected by leprosy, and this hampers their physical, psychological, social and economic well-being. The stigma attached to leprosy is so acute that persons affected by the disease, in many cases, are forced to leave their homes and live in isolated colonies. Stigma leads to irrational behaviour towards people affected by the disease. It is hurtful and leads to discriminatory practices.