Day: February 1, 2022

Abuja, 1 February, 2022 – In commemoration of the 2022 World Leprosy Day, the Government of Nigeria and Partners have decried the continuous stigmatization of people living with the disease.

The Honorable Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, speaking at a ministerial press briefing to mark the day in Abuja on 31st of January 2022, said stigmatization continues to have negative impact to the successful elimination of the disease and re-integration of those cured back into their communities.

Dr Ehanire noted that leprosy is a public health issue and puts the country among the last nations in the world to defeat the disease, with more than 1,000 new cases still reported in a year.

In 2020, Nigeria notified 1,508 new cases, of which over 13% had a visible deformity of fingers and toes, and more than 6 % were children.

“Efforts to combat the disease is still affected by challenges. Stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their families remains a challenge. The wrong beliefs that it is contagious, hereditary or ordained punishment and the fear of rejection by family and friends, deter victims from seeking early care if they suspect leprosy and discourage those cured of integration back into their communities.

The commemoration of the 2022 World Leprosy Day draws attention to the plight of fellow citizens living with the age-old disease. We mark this occasion again with a review of Nigeria’s efforts to end the disease. About 18 states are still witnessing its features as an endemic disease in the whole country, he said.

In his goodwill remark, the WHO Country Representative (WR), Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, appreciated Nigeria’s efforts on the Leprosy Programming, saying the country is not yet out of the woods as it remains important in the global Leprosy eradication road map.

The WR said the notification of new cases and the Grade 2 disability is a problem among patients as cases could be prevented by early diagnosis, contact tracing and ensuring adherence to treatment.

He added this year’s theme “United for dignity”, emphasizes the need for increased collaboration by all stakeholders to put hands together to ensure increased efforts towards elimination of Leprosy and prevention of the disabilities it causes.

WHO’s Commitment

Dr Mulombo pledged WHO’s commitment to collaborate with other key partners to step-up action in supporting the Federal Ministry of Health to mobilize the needed domestic and international resources required for the control, elimination and eradication of Leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases in the country.

He said WHO is also committed to facilitating the donation of all needed medicines for Leprosy as it has always done each year.

“Finally, I want to encourage individuals, communities, and local governments to encourage surveillance, testing and treatment for leprosy and to learn more about this disease, to end the silent epidemic”, he added.

World Leprosy Day is marked annually on the last Sunday in January. Leprosy or Hansen’s disease is a chronic infectious disease caused by a slow-growing bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae). “It is an age-old disease, described in the literature of ancient civilizations. Throughout history, people afflicted have often been ostracized by their communities and families”.

The commemoration is aimed at celebrating people who have experienced leprosy, raising awareness about the disease, and calling for an end to leprosy-related stigma and discrimination.

Source: World Health Organization. Africa

Atlanta/Brazzaville – Preventive treatment of neglected tropical diseases (NTD) has saved many lives across Africa. However, obstacles persist as these diseases often affect impoverished communities in rural areas, conflict zones and hard-to-reach regions. These diseases are also almost absent from the global health agenda. Dr Paul Emerson, Director of the Atlanta-based International Trachoma Initiative, discusses ways to improve treatment and apply lessons for effective prevention and control.

What are the major impediments to treatment of neglected tropical diseases?

In the control of neglected tropical diseases context is everything, meaning that each country faces different challenges. Several of the diseases targeted for control or elimination with an emphasis on preventive chemotherapy such as lymphatic filariasis, soil transmitted helminthiasis, and trachoma have seen tremendous progress in disease reduction during the last decade. For these diseases, the challenge is to focus implementation activities, human resources, and donated medicines to those people still at risk of morbidity from the diseases and to recategorize formerly endemic areas into surveillance. Populations who have been marginalized, overlooked, or who are affected by war must be deliberately targeted with services to ensure no one is left behind. For other less common, but equally important, NTDs such as leprosy and yaws there is a need to implement and monitor village wide prophylaxis or treatment in affected areas and carefully monitor disease reduction. For these diseases, availability of implementation funds and donated resources are an impediment to progress, which may be overcome with demonstrated progress in targeted countries.

What strategies can governments adopt to administer effective treatment of NTDs?

Government-led NTD programmes have shown remarkable resilience during the last two years while the world has been affected by the pandemic. The dedication of health ministry personnel to deliver the programmes, and the eager uptake by affected communities underlines the effectiveness of the current strategies. Of course, there are always opportunities for improvement. Efficiencies can be made by targeting donated medicine to those who need it, co-administering medicine for NTD’s in some circumstances, and looking for other areas of integration for example offering deworming tablets to women at risk of hookworm and Trichuris during their antenatal visits. Other disease elimination and control programmes can learn and get inspiration from the community engagement and ownership of NTD programmes.

What lessons can be applied for better and sustainable control of NTDs?

As programmes become mature and the diseases are disappearing the districts that are left are those that do not respond in the same positive way as those in which the disease has gone. National programmes and their partners need to understand that different strategies may be needed at the end of their programmes than were needed at the beginning or during the scale up phases. All programme managers and partners should remember the lessons of humility and listen to the story that is being told when they track data and monitor progress. The data do not lie. If a disease appears to be coming back, or the speed of decline is slowing, mother nature is telling us something. It’s time for a deep dive on the specific context of that area to find out what is really happening.

Beyond treatment, what are some of the key measures to accelerate elimination?

Preventive chemotherapy with donated medicines has reached over a billion people in the last decade and really does form the cornerstone of several NTD control and elimination programmes. However, donated medicine alone is not the only answer to disease elimination. People must want to take the medicine and participate in the other aspects of the programmes. Community members make informed decisions about their family’s health and well-being on an almost daily basis. Building trust so that the benefits of active participation in drug distribution programmes, hygiene promotion, vector and source reduction is an inexpensive and vital way of increasing impact. Other ministries and departments with responsibility for providing access to water and sanitation should be partners in NTD elimination. Residual NTD transmission usually takes place in the least developed communities and districts, meaning that the presence of these diseases can be used as a marker of poverty and help water and sanitation agencies target their efforts to these areas.

Source: World Health Organization. Africa