A Medical Officer at the Ankaful Leprosy and General Hospital, Dr. Emmanuel Boakye says it is about time that discrimination against people who are cured of leprosy is done away with.
According to him, although Ghana is making a lot of progress, in as much as the leprosy elimination mission in the country is concerned, some doctors are discriminated against due to their handling of leprosy patients.
He said love must be extended to all lepers to make them feel very welcomed and part of society and also to the doctors who are ensuring their complete healing.
Dr. Boakye, speaking to ATLFM NEWS in commemoration of World Leprosy Day said evidence from active community search of the disease point to an appreciable upsurge in people suffering from leprosy which he said is very alarming.
“We are making a lot of progress as far as the Leprosy elimination program is concerned. Currently, we are at the elimination stage.”
Elimination Stage
According to him, the elimination stage means in a population of about 10, 000 people, less than 1or at most 1 may suffer from the disease.
“That is where we are…we are making progress but the point also is that the more we go into the society, we do our active case search, the more cases we find so it appears leprosy is still endemic but as we shine more light on it we see more people and treat them,” he said.
Theme
Highlighting the essence of this year’s theme, UNITY FOR DIGNITY, Dr. Boakye noted that the theme should be a reminder for all stakeholders including parents and relatives to collaborate and join efforts to fight for the dignity of persons affected by leprosy.
He further added, “this year and beyond, we all want to stand together and push for the recognition and treatment of these people with a lot of respect, with a lot of dignity and with a lot of empathy and that’s the purpose for the theme this year”.
World Leprosy Day
World Leprosy Day was established by a French philanthropist in 1954 and celebrated on the last Sunday of January to spread awareness about leprosy disease, and call for an end to leprosy-related stigma and discrimination.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a long-term disease that is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. It mostly affects the skin and other parts of the body. It is thought to be one of the oldest diseases in human history. Each year, about 200,000 new cases are reported around the world.
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Source: Eric Sekyi/ATLFMNEWS
