Chennai
Sunday 15 May 2005

By Our Correspondent

Cennai, May 14: Tamil Nadu has 0.91 persons per 10,000 affected by
leprosy as of March 2005, the lowest "prevalence rate" in the
country, according to United Nations' goodwill ambassador, Mr
Yohei Sasakawa. The president of Nippon Foundation is here
to be a part of the southern regional conference, supported by
Sasakawa Memorial Health, to be held in the city on May 15. World
Health Organisation has set a target of reaching one case per
l0,000 persons by December 31, 2005 in the world, which is
considered as the "leprosy elimination goal". Speaking to this
newspaper, he said, "This is my first visit to this Tamil Nadu and
I am here to make people understand that people discrimination is
the biggest issue for people who have leprosy or have been cured
of it. We also want them to know that multi drug therapy, the drug
for curing leprosy, is being provided free by Novartis
Pharmaceuticals and that the disease is easier to cure in
comparison to malaria or tuberculosis. Although Tamil Nadu has the
lowest prevalence rate, that does not mean it can afford to get
complacent. The state has just crossed one milestone." According
to government statistics, in 1982, Tamil Nadu had over 8 lakh
people affected by leprosy and in 2005, there are only about 5,503
patients undergoing treatment. The state is considered a role
model for other states in the country.

Mr Sasakawa said, "We have been working for eradication of this
disease and elimination is only the first step towards
eradication. There is still a long way to go. I had spoken to the
UN human rights commission about the discrimination faced by the
affected and they have made the spread of awareness as their
agenda. The 26 member states have to tackle the human violation
issue, as per UN guidelines and recommendations, which will be
given soon."

"I plan to hold talks with the state's politicians, NGOs and
people involved in the elimination of leprosy. I am visiting some
of the leprosy rehabilitation homes at Chengalpattu and some of
the leprosy affected and cured persons at Villivakam on May 17" he
added.

India is among the nine countries, which is yet to reach
elimination level in the world. The conference will be attended by
senior officials from the central government, state level leprosy
officers of the southern states, NGOs, medical professionals,
leprosy-cured patients and others.

This article originally appeared in the Deccan Chronicle, a
newspaper of Chennai, India.