March 16 was a day of rejoicing for hundreds of patients who visit TLM Chandkhuri Hospital in Chhattisgarh every day.
The hospital is situated 1 ½ km away from the bus stand on the newly opened National Highway 130 and the patients had to walk all the way to the hospital, as there was no other means of transport. Trekking on the dirt track was so cumbersome – especially for people affected by leprosy with disabilities – that many patients stopped visiting the hospital altogether.
The Customised Protective Footwear project of The Leprosy Mission Trust India recently organised a programme, in collaboration with Indian Association of Physiotherapists (http://www.physiotherapyindia.org/), at its Central Fabrication Unit in Miraj, Maharashtra, to make physiotherapy practitioners in Sangli district, Maharashtra aware about the customised footwear services available for diabetic/orthopaedic foot deformities at its Central Fabrication Unit. Mr Sachin Shetty, Convener, Indian Association of Physiotherapists, Sangli district was the chief guest.
Leprosy is one of the world’s most misunderstood diseases. It is riddled with myths and misconceptions, evoking fear in the minds of people. These myths and misconceptions kick off an inimical chain reaction! They aggravate the stigma associated with the disease. Fearing stigmatisation, patients do not seek medical treatment. Because of this, patients develop disabilities. Also, the infection spreads.
We had put up a post about leprosy re-emerging in Kerala, on our Facebook page . The post talks about Kerala Government’s Aswamedham Leprosy Case Detection Campaign in eight districts of the state, namely, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasargod districts to detect hidden cases of leprosy, as it was found leprosy was on the rise in the state – Kerala has been a low endemic state for leprosy as the prevalence rate was low and detection of new cases very few in the last couple of years.
The Lok Sabha passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016, on December 16, 2016, and it became an Act – the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act 2016). Even though a year has elapsed after this, many states have not framed rules under this Act and notified them. It is to the credit of the Government of Delhi that it has framed and notified rules under the Act, joining a handful of states that have done this.
