Parliament Question: Burden of leprosy cases in the country

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE RAJYASABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2029 TO BE ANSWERED ON10.03.2026 BURDEN OFLEPROSYCASES IN THE COUNTRY

2029.PROF. MANOJ KUMAR JHA:

Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:

(a) whether Government has taken note that the number of leprosy cases has remained above 100,000overthe last twenty years, accounting for more than50percentof the globalburden;

(b) if so, the reasons for the stagnation inreported cases overthe years;

(c)the steps takenbyGovernment to improve the situation;

(d) the official Government website wherefrom State-wise and district-wise leprosy data can be accessed toenable preparation of endemicity-basedactionplans;

(e)whether Government planstoincrease budget allocationfor the leprosy programme;and

(f) the details of funds allocated, released and utilised during the last three years, State/UT- wise? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SMT. ANUPRIYAPATEL)

(a) to (f) : The National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) is a centrally sponsored scheme under the overarching umbrella of National Health Mission (NHM). Funds are allocated to the programme activities under NHM on the basis of State/UT specific Programme Implementation Plans and States/UTs are required to utilize funds as per their need,priorityandonthe basis of their absorption capacity.

Leprosy is a chronic disease which leads to delayed manifestation of symptoms. The persistence of reported leprosy cases isattributed tothe longincubation periodof the disease, which can range from 5 to 20 years. India has continued to report more than 1,00,000 new leprosy cases annually over the years and accounts for a significant proportion of the global leprosy burden. In addition, ongoingtransmission in certain high-endemic pockets, improved surveillance and active case detection activities under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP), and increased awareness resulting in higher reporting contribute to sustained detectionof cases.The following steps have beentaken byGovernment toimprove the Situation:

 Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC): House-to-House surveys in villages and urbanareasinidentified highburdendistricts  Focused Leprosy Campaign (FLC): Active case search where a new case with Grade 2 Disability (G2D) is detected, this search targets 300 surrounding households in urban areas or the entire village in rural areas Special plan for active case search in hard-to-reachareas: Provision of leprosy services through communityparticipation.

 ASHA-based surveillance for leprosy suspects (ABSULS) in districts not covered underLCDC tobe integratedin the routine activitiesandcontinued.  Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaign (SLAC) is an activity under NLEP organized across the country for general awareness upto village level and reducing stigma and discrimination. Special Annual Mass Awareness campaigns named Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaigns (SLAC) were launched on 30th January, 2017 i.e., Anti Leprosy Day, to reduce stigma and discrimination against persons suffering from leprosy.

 Leprosy services are integrated with the general health care system through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs at Sub-Centres, Primary Health Centres (PHCs), CommunityHealthCentres(CHCs), District Hospitals andtertiarycare institutions.

 Regular training and capacity-building programmes are conducted for Medical Officers, ASHAs, ANMs and other frontline health workers for early identification, referral andtreatment of leprosy.  Intensified active case detection through Leprosy Case Detection Campaigns (LCDC) and Focused Leprosy Campaigns (FLC) are undertaken in high-risk and vulnerable areastoensure earlydiagnosis andprompt initiationof treatment.

 Contact tracing is carried out and Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)is administered to eligiblecontacts of indexcases tointerrupt transmission.  Disability Prevention and Medical Rehabilitation (DPMR) services are provided as per programme guidelines, including reaction management, self-care training, provision of assistive devices, Micro-Cellular Rubber (MCR) footwear and reconstructive surgery.

Details of state-wise and district-wise leprosy data can be accessed through the official DGHS website (https://dghs.mohfw.gov.in/nlep.php) under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme(NLEP).

The statement of State/UT-wise StateProgramme Implementation Plan(SPIP) Approvals and Expenditure on National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) from the F.Y. 2022-23 to 2024-25 isattachedat Annexure.

*****Annexure Annexure referred to inreplyto parts(a) to (f)of Rajya SabhaUnstarred QuestionNo. 2029for answeron

10.03.2026 Statementof State/UT-wiseState Programme Implementation Plan (SPIP)ApprovalsandExpenditure on NationalLeprosyEradicationProgramme(NLEP)fromtheF.Y.2022-23to2024-25 (Rs.inLakhs) Sl.

N States 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 o.

SPIP SPIP SPIP Expenditure Expenditure Expenditure Andamanand Nicobar Islands 15.63 1.85 23.83 7.05 24.65 5.08 1 Andhra Pradesh 1316.89 837.45 1331.49 1121.10 2338.11 1517.42 2 Arunachal Pradesh 113.68 56.15 95.54 31.74 93.95 89.91 3 Assam 267.63 106.33 179.19 708.67 1050.53 845.69 4 Bihar 2132.00 634.97 2503.27 1249.67 2755.03 1624.33 5 Chandigarh 20.85 14.19 20.85 14.64 21.91 14.32 6 Chhattisgarh 1614.65 1302.85 1761.57 490.08 1783.88 515.73 7 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman& Diu 69.39 25.96 76.32 16.38 67.21 19.26 8 Delhi 239.73 136.89 263.50 231.53 213.39 145.25 9 Goa 6.22 4.24 6.22 11.93 20.87 16.18 10 Gujarat 254.31 170.50 264.69 699.26 671.65 556.92 11 Haryana 203.16 166.10 215.52 182.10 354.95 286.15 12 Himachal Pradesh 68.14 14.01 61.03 12.90 56.83 24.60 13 Jammu and Kashmir 74.89 24.98 80.65 22.35 113.59 68.09 14Jharkhand 855.88 626.02 784.67 661.39 1435.46 977.82 15 Karnataka 968.69 695.35 852.99 1110.38 1179.23 956.29 16 Kerala 1397.46 853.31 1397.54 121.55 1105.57 126.93 17 Lakshadweep 10.79 7.40 11.33 0.01 13.19 6.57 18 Madhya Pradesh 644.29 630.71 727.35 704.88 911.31 1.06 19 Maharashtra 2359.05 2303.22 2330.63 1839.43 3173.77 509.69 20 Manipur 57.40 1.45 57.40 0.00 41.40 596.50 21 Meghalaya 39.68 5.43 39.70 20.91 43.81 17.91 22 Mizoram 26.23 2.35 27.78 7.70 17.14 13.87 23 Nagaland 79.17 55.87 59.51 40.28 92.50 9.41 24 Odisha 954.91 616.12 870.50 687.41 761.22 43.25 25 Puducherry 11.74 2.11 11.94 1.97 14.89 692.22 26 Punjab 86.83 17.12 88.30 88.30 121.27 5.50 27 Rajasthan 250.19 156.27 511.59 306.62 410.21 47.47 28 Sikkim 53.55 42.37 56.03 38.82 53.07 292.93 29 Tamil Nadu 768.15 660.22 768.55 505.40 571.22 50.91 30 Tripura 35.61 22.34 24.84 16.17 31.53 551.06 31 Uttar Pradesh 2527.65 2233.02 3896.13 4502.50 9168.53 848.85 32 Uttarakhand 146.49 80.56 114.11 81.11 99.45 22.37 33 West Bengal 1320.47 1191.25 1295.94 886.12 1393.34 5243.98 34Telangana 1033.97 601.66 1049.07 348.43 874.71 63.61 35 Ladakh 2.80 2.52 2.80 4.55 16.00 1092.33 36

Note: 1. SPIPApprovals are as per the available Financial Management Reports submitted by State/UTs and are provisional.

2.Expenditure includes expenditure against Central Release, State release & unspent balancesat the beginning of the year.Expenditure isasperFMRssubmitted byStates/UTs andisprovisional. *****