The following article originally appeared in The Pioneer, a newspaper based out of Lucknow, Bhopal, Kochi and Bhubaneswar. The Pioneer holds all rights to this article, and may be reached via the link at the bottom of this page.

MINISTER OF State for Health Jaiveer Singh has emphasised on the need for creating awareness among the masses about timely treatment of leprosy and thus ensuring complete eradication of the diseases.

Addressing the "National Media partnership workshop 2005" at Gomti hotel on Wednesday, the minister said that the disease, once considered a social stigma and a curse of God, is completely curable today." Before the independence, there were some acts which forced the leprosy patients to live in isolation, but the situation has improved a lot ofver the years," said Singh.

He said that the state government was determined to eradicate the disease and all the health centres in urban and rural areas had enough resources to treat leprosy patients. He also extended his full support to organisations working for the cause and appreciated media's attempt in that regard.

Chairman Nippon Foundation and WHO's Goodwill ambassador for elimination of Leprosy, Yohei Sasakawa expressed his concern over the treatment which the leprosy patients got from the society for lack of awareness. Sasakawa, who started his leprosy mission from Uttar Pradesh, said that 1.10 crore patients were totally cured of leprosy since 1984. It was need of the hour to disseminate message that like malaria and TB, leprosy was also curable, he stressed.

There are thousands of diseases in the world but only leprosy patients face discrimination even after they have been cured.

Even today, people, completely cured of leprosy, are made to live together away from the society. Not only leprosy patients, but their family members are also isolated from the society. Almost 100 million people in the world suffer from some kind of discrimination or stigma because of the disease," Sasakawa said adding that it's serious human rights issue, but no organisation had taken it up so far, he said.

President, IDEA (Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement), India, PK Gopal in his address said that it was necessary that UN Human Rights Commission prepared some guidelines for national governments on prevention of discrimination and human rights violations experienced by the leprosy affected persons in various ways. Such guidelines could prove to be a very good tool to fight against stigma and discrimination, added Gopal.

A book "Dignity Regained" was also released on the occasion in which experiences of the patients were compiled.

A number of such patients also expressed their views on the occasion.