The last Sunday of January is observed as World Leprosy Day and the focus this time is on tackling the discrimination, stigma and prejudice around it.

A majority of people affected by leprosy are believed to experience some form of stigma and discrimination and about half of them will face mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety, says ILEP, an international anti-leprosy federation involving 13 non-governmental organisations. The ILEP’s vision is the Triple Zero campaign focused on transmission, disabilities and discrimination. Leprosy affected 2,12,000 more people globally in 2015 and of them 60 per cent were in India, according to the World Health Organization. The other high-burden countries were Brazil and Indonesia. Of the new cases, 8.9 per cent were children and 6.7 per cent had visible deformities. Urging countries to scale up interventions with a focus to avoid transmission of leprosy, the WHO says an intensified, all-inclusive, approach can prevent thousands of infections every year.

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