Lok Sabha Question No. 96 (STARRED), answered on 2019-02-08
Subject: Leprosy Eradication
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL, ANANDRAO  ADSUL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 96 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 8 TH FEBRUARY ,2019 LEPROSY ERADICATION

## *96. SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL: SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

Will  the  Minister  of  HEALTH  AND  FAMILY  WELFARE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government has prepared any new policy to completely eradic leprosy from the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the G overnment is aware that there is also a shortage of doctors fo leprosy eradication programme and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  there  has  been  slow  progress  in  the  leprosy  eradication  progr undertaken in the country and if so, the details thereof and the reasons ther
- (d) whether the Government has conducted any study in this regard and if so findings thereof along with the response of the Government thereto; and
- (e) the efforts being made by the Government to completely eradicate leprosy from the country, check discrimination against the people suffering from this d create  awareness  among  the  people  and  develop  infrastructure  for  investiga treatment and eradication o f leprosy in the country?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA)

- (a)to ( e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 96* FOR 8 TH FEBRUARY , 20 19

(a) In  order  to  effectively  eradicate  leprosy,  several  measures  are implemented under National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) since 2016 in a phase wise manner. These include (1) three pronged strategy for earl detection including a) Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) in high endemic districts, b) Focussed Leprosy Campaign (FLC) in endemic villages/ urban are low endemic districts and c) Special plan for active case finding in remo difficult  areas,  (2)  Sparsh  Leprosy  Awa reness  Campaign  (SLAC),  (3)  Grade  II disability case investigation and (4) Accredited Social Health Activists ( based Surveillance for Leprosy Suspects (ABSULS).

(b) As per Rural Health Statistics 2018, there is a shortfall of 3673 doc PrimaryHealthcare Centre (PHC) level.  (Extract  placed at Annexure I )

(c) & (d) No . During the last three years after introduction of the above not measures, NLEP India is moving ahead to achieve the target set by World Hea Organisation (WHO) to be achiev ed by 2020.

The measures have given the needed impetus to programme and as a resul of the same surveillance data shows that the Grade II disability has signi declined. The Grade II disability per million which was 4.48/ million popula on 31 st March, 2015 has decreased to 2.47/ million population (annualized) as 30 th November,  2019  against  the  target  of  G2D  <1  case/  million  populati provided by WHO's Global Leprosy Strategy (GLS), 2016 2020 to be attained by year 2020.

has

(e) To eradicate leprosy from the country, the Government implementing the NLEP.  Key interventions under the programme include - bee

Three pronged strategy for early case detection given in response to p of the question.

- Free drugs
- Incentives to ASHA for case detection and treatment completion
- Activities for stigma reduction

Further,  in  order  to  control  discrimination  against  Persons  Affected  b Leprosy  (PAL),  Government  has  launched  the  Sparsh  Leprosy  Awareness Campaign (SLAC) wherein Nation - w ide  special  Gram/  Ward  Sabhas  are being organized as an annual activity since 2017, on 30 th January, to spread awareness regarding leprosy and reduce stigma pertaining to the same. In addition, v intensive  Information  Education  and  Communication  (IEC )  activities  are  being conducted at various administrative levels as a routine, to sensitize the co and reduce stigma pertaining to leprosy.

The Lepers Act, 1898: The enactment of the Lepers Act, 1898 was based o the then prevailing knowledge abou t leprosy, the means available for its treatmen and control and the age - old stigma attached to the disease. It was considered t the disease was incurable, that all persons affected are infectious and it i to  restrain  their  movement  and  prohi bit  leprosy  patients  from  following  certain trades and doing certain acts. The Act made provisions to prevent spread disease to others. In the light of recent scientific advancements, the conc leprosy as regards its causation, spread, infec tivity and treatment has undergone a radical change. Now, Leprosy is completely curable when treated with Multi - Drug Therapy (MDT). In view of the same, Lepers Act was repealed as a whole in 2016.

Recently,  a  bill  seeking  to  remove leprosy  as  a  ground  fo rdivorce was passed  by Lok  Sabhain  January,  2019. The  bill  seeks  to  remove  leprosy  as  a ground for divorce in five personal laws i.e., 1) Hindu Marriage Act, 2) Diss of Muslim Marriages Act, 3) Divorce Act (for Christians), 4) Special Marriag and 5) the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha in August, 2018 with Law Commission report wherein it was recommended to repeal laws and provisions which were discriminatory against leprosy affecte people.

......

## Extract of Rural Health Statistics, 2018

|        |                     | DOCTORS + AT PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES on 31st March, 2018)   | DOCTORS + AT PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES on 31st March, 2018)   | DOCTORS + AT PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES on 31st March, 2018)   | DOCTORS + AT PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES on 31st March, 2018)   | DOCTORS + AT PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES on 31st March, 2018)   |
|--------|---------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No. | State/UTs           | Required 1                                                 | (As Sanctioned                                             | In Position                                                | Vacant                                                     | Shortfall [R-P]                                            |
| 1      | Andhra Pradesh      | [R] 1147                                                   | [S] 2267                                                   | [P] 2045                                                   | [S-P] 222                                                  | *                                                          |
| 2      | Arunachal Pradesh   | 143                                                        | NA                                                         | 125                                                        | NA                                                         | 18                                                         |
| 3      | Assam               | 946                                                        | NA                                                         | 1376                                                       | NA                                                         | *                                                          |
| 4      | Bihar #             | 1899                                                       | 2078                                                       | 1786                                                       | 292                                                        | 113                                                        |
| 5      | Chhattisgarh        | 793                                                        | 793                                                        | 359                                                        | 434                                                        | 434                                                        |
| 6      | Goa                 | 25                                                         | 48                                                         | 56                                                         | *                                                          | *                                                          |
| 7      | Gujarat             | 1474                                                       | 1865                                                       | 1321                                                       | 544                                                        | 153                                                        |
| 8      | Haryana             | 368                                                        | 551                                                        | 491                                                        | 60                                                         | *                                                          |
| 9      | Himachal Pradesh    | 576                                                        | 636                                                        | 622                                                        | 14                                                         | *                                                          |
| 10     | Jammu &Kashmir      | 637                                                        | 1347                                                       | 694                                                        | 653                                                        | *                                                          |
| 11     | Jharkhand           | 298                                                        | 556                                                        | 340                                                        | 216                                                        | *                                                          |
| 12     | Karnataka           | 2359                                                       | 2359                                                       | 2136                                                       | 223                                                        | 223                                                        |
| 13     | Kerala              | 849                                                        | 1120                                                       | 1169                                                       | *                                                          | *                                                          |
| 14     | Madhya Pradesh      | 1171                                                       | 1771                                                       | 1112                                                       | 659                                                        | 59                                                         |
| 15     | Maharashtra         | 1823                                                       | 3009                                                       | 2929                                                       | 80                                                         | *                                                          |
| 16     | Manipur             | 91                                                         | 238                                                        | 194                                                        | 44                                                         | *                                                          |
| 17     | Meghalaya ##        | 108                                                        | 128                                                        | 130                                                        | *                                                          | *                                                          |
| 18     | Mizoram ###         | 57                                                         | 152                                                        | 59                                                         | 93                                                         | *                                                          |
| 19     | Nagaland            | 126                                                        | 108                                                        | 118                                                        | *                                                          | 8                                                          |
| 20     | Odisha              | 1288                                                       | 1326                                                       | 917                                                        | 409                                                        | 371                                                        |
| 21     | Punjab              | 432                                                        | 593                                                        | 480                                                        | 113                                                        | *                                                          |
| 22     | Rajasthan           | 2078                                                       | 2751                                                       | 2396                                                       | 355                                                        | *                                                          |
| 23     | Sikkim              | 24                                                         | NA                                                         | 24                                                         | NA 356                                                     | 0                                                          |
| 24     | Tamil Nadu          | 1421                                                       | 3136                                                       | 2780                                                       |                                                            | *                                                          |
| 25     | Telangana           | 643                                                        | 1254                                                       | 1066                                                       | 188                                                        | *                                                          |
| 26     | Tripura             | 108                                                        | 0                                                          | 119                                                        | *                                                          | *                                                          |
| 27     | Uttarakhand         | 257                                                        | 425                                                        | 241                                                        | 184                                                        | 16                                                         |
| 28     | Uttar Pradesh       | 3621                                                       | 4509                                                       | 1344                                                       | 3165                                                       | 2277                                                       |
| 29     | West Bengal         | 913                                                        | 1268                                                       | 1016                                                       | 252                                                        | *                                                          |
| 30     | A& N Islands        | 22                                                         | 42                                                         | 34                                                         | 8                                                          | *                                                          |
| 31     | Chandigarh          | 0                                                          | 0                                                          | 0                                                          | 0                                                          | 0                                                          |
| 32     | D &NHaveli          | 9                                                          | 15                                                         | 8                                                          | 7                                                          | 1                                                          |
| 33     | Daman &Diu          | 4                                                          | 5                                                          | 4                                                          | 1                                                          | 0                                                          |
| 34     | Delhi               | 5                                                          | 21                                                         | 22                                                         | *                                                          | *                                                          |
| 35     | Lakshadweep         |                                                            |                                                            |                                                            |                                                            | *                                                          |
| 36     | Puducherry          | 4 24                                                       | 8 38                                                       | 8                                                          | 0 *                                                        | *                                                          |
|        | All India 2 / Total | 25743                                                      | 34417                                                      | 46 27567                                                   | 8572                                                       | 3673                                                       |

Notes:# Sanctioned data for year 2011 used ## Sanctioned data for year 2015 used

### Sanctioned data for year 2013 -14 used

NA: Not Available.

+: Allopathic Doctors

All India figures for Vacancy and Shortfall are the t ot ls of S ate -wise Vacancy and Shortfall ignoring surplus in some States / UTs

*:Surplus.

1 One per Primary Health Centre as per IPHS norms

2 For calculating the overall percentages of vacancy, the States/UTs for which manpower position is not available, are excluded