Leprosy in the WHO African region

The African Region has the second largest prevalence of leprosy among the WHO regions with about 1 per 1,000 population affected. With a very uneven distribution among countries, the region currently has a total of about 480,000 registered cases. The number of new cases detected per year is reported to be about 37,000. A high proportion (25-40%) of the registered cases are estimated to have significant physical disabilities. In spite of the introduction of multidrug therapy (MDT) in the early 1980s, currently only about 20% of the patients are benefiting from this improved treatment. The major problem in the low MDT coverage appears to be operational, against the background of a difficult socioeconomic situation. However, there have been favourable trends towards increased political commitment in several countries in recent years. The operational and technical constraints were discussed at an interregional conference in Brazzaville in 1989 which emphasized the need to make use of the opportunities to reduce disease prevalence through MDT; to coordinate various internal and external resources available for leprosy control; to increase political commitment and develop plans of action to build national capabilities for leprosy control; to integrate leprosy control within general health services; and to promote health education.