KARACHI: Mervyn Francis Lobo, the CEO of the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC), announced that leprosy, a curable disease, is declining in Pakistan, with a steady decrease in new cases.

As the number of cases continues to drop, the focus is shifting to achieving complete elimination, and a comprehensive strategy to achieve this goal is being launched today.

He expressed while addressing an event ‘Zero Leprosy Strategy: a roadmap eliminating leprosy’, held at local hotel on Thursday.

Mervyn said the MALC has been tirelessly working towards the eradication of leprosy for the past six decades, and its efforts have yielded significant results.

According to Mervyn Francis Lobo, most targets set for the disease have been achieved, with the rate of new patients less than one in 100,000, the rate of treated patients less than one in 10,000, the rate of disability in new patients less than one in 10,000, and the rate of children in new patients less than one in 10,000. These achievements align with the goals set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Lobo noted that despite progress, an average of 200-300 new patients are registered annually across the country, a rate expected to remain steady over the next decade. The prolonged duration of the disease (5-20 years) and lack of public awareness contribute to this steady rate.

To combat this, MALC has launched a new strategy, initiating a program to administer a single dose of Refampicin to close relatives of new and former patients in areas with high numbers of new leprosy cases, as recommended by the WHO.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024