Overview
- India’s Health Ministry said free diagnosis and multidrug therapy under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme continue nationwide, with a goal of Zero Transmission by 2027.
- India achieved national elimination status in 2005, and as of March 2025, 31 states and 638 districts were below one case per 10,000 population, the ministry reported.
- WHO estimates around 200,000 new leprosy cases each year across more than 120 countries, underscoring the disease’s continued global presence.
- Doctors emphasize that timely treatment rapidly makes patients non-infectious and prevents disability, yet stigma still deters people from seeking early screening and care.
- Recent local reports note ongoing detection: Uttar Pradesh has about 7,000 patients with roughly 180 in Lucknow, and Goa recorded 46 cases from April to December 2025 with a prevalence near 0.58 per 10,000.