Silver lining in leprosy

How ALERT India is combating stigma and enabling early care for thousands living with leprosy

- Minal Sancheti

An activist who dedicated his entire life to the cause of leprosy, the late Baba Amte, had rightly said, "Joy is more infectious than leprosy.

Taking the baton since 1978, ALERT India, an NGO, has worked relentlessly for the same mission, that is to spread happiness to the people by debunking the stigma around leprosy. Its primary focus being on tribal areas, it has impacted more than 70,000 lives, reaching 18 million people and establishing more than 250 Leprosy Referral Centres. It has not just worked to get rid of people's fear of leprosy, but it has paved a way for the underprivileged patients to live a life of dignity.

Veera M Rao, Director of ALERT India, explains how, in some places of India, people still believe the falsehoods about leprosy. This, in turn, creates fear in the patients, resulting in delaying the treatment and thus making the illness severe. She says, "Many still believe leprosy is hereditary, caused by curses or past sins, and spreads by touch or sharing food. We counter these myths during the Leprosy Elimination Action Programme (LEAP) field visits. Through doorstep counselling, physiotherapy camps and Leprosy Referral Centres (LRC) -based education clinics, we demonstrate that leprosy is curable, not hereditary, and spreads only through prolonged untreated exposure — not casual contact."