Prime Minister said the effort to eliminate leprosy from this country under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi’s vision.
He recalled that this programme was launched way back in 1955 and noted that the goal of leprosy elimination as a public health problem, prevalence rate of less than 1 case per 10,000 population at national level was achieved in 2005.
He said that although the case detection rate thereafter has marginally decreased, visible deformity at the time of diagnosis has increased.
“As a country, we have to leave no stone unturned to not just reach the last mile but also to work together to eliminate the social stigma attached with this disease,” he added.
