The Government is implementing the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) with the goal of making India leprosy free. NLEP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the umbrella of National Health Mission (NHM). This programme is implemented in all the States/UTs.
The major focus of the Programme is to detect the cases of leprosy at an early stage and to provide complete treatment, free of cost, in order to prevent the occurrence of disability.
Major initiatives under NLEP are as follows:
- Leprosy Case Detections Campaign (LCDC) in high endemic districts.
- Focused Leprosy Campaign (FLC) in low endemic districts for case detection.
- Special plans for Hard-to-Reach areas for early case detection and treatment.
- ASHA Based Surveillance for Leprosy Suspects (ABSULS).
- Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign on 30th January every year.
- Active Case Detection and Surveillance both in rural and urban areas.
- Convergence of leprosy screening under Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) for screening of children (0-18 years) and under Ayushman Bharat for screening of people above 30 years of age.
- Monitoring of the programme by Joint Monitoring Investigation and Advisory Group (JMIAG).
- Certificate, award and performance linked financial incentive are given to the districts for achieving leprosy elimination.
- Contact tracing is done and Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) with Single dose of Rifampicin (SDR) given to the eligible contacts of index case in order to interrupt the chain of transmission.
Further, 12 packs of MDT (Multi Drug Therapy) blister packs are given to Multi Bacillary Leprosy cases as per the Standard Treatment Protocol.
India has achieved the elimination of leprosy as a public health problem as per WHO criteria of less than 1 case per 10,000 population at the National level in 2005. However, there are few districts within States where leprosy is still endemic.
As per Monthly Progress Report of Central Leprosy Division, Directorate General of Health Services (as on 31st May 2022), 72,914 leprosy patients, as informed by the States/UTs, are under treatment in the country.
