India sees a 15.07% rise in leprosy cases in 2021-22 but funds for eradication halve

At 17,014, Maharashtra has the most number of cases of leprosy, followed by Bihar at 11,318.

The number of leprosy cases reported in India increased by about 15.07 percent to 75,394 in 2021-22 from 65,147 in 2020-21, shows data submitted by the government to Parliament.

The prevalence rate of leprosy, which looks at the number of under-treatment cases per 10,000 population, also went up from 0.40 to 0.45 during the year

The current year’s data shows that as of January 2023, India had 88,278 active cases of leprosy.

At 17,014, Maharashtra has the most number of cases of infectious disease, followed by Bihar at 11,318.

According to the WHO, India has the highest number of leprosy cases in the world, accounting for more than 53 percent of the infectious disease reported, followed by Brazil and Indonesia.

Funds decline

Meanwhile, prior to the reported rise in cases, funds released by the Centre to states earmarked for the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) declined during the pandemic years 2020-21 and 2021-22.

2005 success

However, India was able to achieve the elimination of leprosy as a ‘public health problem’ in 2005 as it was able to bring down the prevalence of the disease to less than one per 10,000 population at the national level.

“With various interventions introduced under NLEP in the last few years, the number of new leprosy cases detected has come down to 75,394 in 2021-22 from 1,25,785 in 2014-15,” said Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, in his response to Parliament.

Although the number of cases reported has come down over the last seven-year period, the increase reported in 2021-22 could be a cause for concern as the government recently declared that it aims to achieve zero transmission of leprosy by 2027.