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The Central Leprosy Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare opened a two-day National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) Review-cum-Capacity Building Workshop at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on 19 August 2026.
The stated goal is Interruption of Transmission (IoT) of leprosy - a step beyond the elimination threshold India crossed nationally in 2005 - through early case detection, contact tracing, full treatment and disability prevention.
More than 70 participants attended, including the Additional Director General (DGHS), the Deputy Director General (Leprosy), officials of RLTRI Raipur and the Aska Institute, State Leprosy Officers and District Leprosy Officers from all 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh.
Technical sessions covered the state's epidemiological picture, the quality of the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) and retrospective and reverse contact tracing; a session stressed pushing the prevalence rate below 1 per 10,000 population in the remaining pockets.
A representative of APAL, an association of persons affected by leprosy, took part, reflecting the programme's stress on community engagement and anti-stigma work.
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, identified in 1873 by the Norwegian physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen - which is why the disease is also called Hansen's disease. It mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves; untreated nerve damage causes the loss of sensation and the deformities historically associated with the disease, which is what 'Grade 2 disability' measures. It is curable with Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT), a combination regimen the WHO recommended from 1982 and which has been supplied free of cost through government health facilities in India. Because a patient stops transmitting the bacillus soon after treatment starts, early detection is itself a prevention tool. For contacts of a diagnosed patient, the programme uses post-exposure prophylaxis with a single dose of rifampicin (SDR-PEP) to break the chain of transmission.
Simple Analogy: Elimination is putting out the visible fire; interruption of transmission is making sure no embers are left that can start a new one.
| Aspect | Elimination as a public health problem | Interruption of transmission | Eradication |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it means | Disease burden pushed below an agreed threshold | No new locally acquired (indigenous) infections | Worldwide reduction of cases to zero, permanently |
| Yardstick for leprosy | Prevalence below 1 case per 10,000 population | Zero new indigenous cases in the defined unit | No cases anywhere, no further control measures needed |
| India's status | Achieved at the national level in 2005 | The current goal, pursued district by district | Not achieved for leprosy anywhere; smallpox is the only human disease eradicated |
| Programme implication | Control activities continue | Active case search, contact tracing and prophylaxis are essential | Programme can be wound up after certification |
Detect, treat and ultimately interrupt the transmission of leprosy across the country
Key: Launched in 1983, succeeding the National Leprosy Control Programme of 1955; run by the Central Leprosy Division under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and delivered through the general health system
Interrupt leprosy transmission at the district level by 2027
Key: Launched on 30 January 2023; frames the goal as zero transmission, zero disability and zero discrimination, and is aligned with the WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2021-2030
Find hidden and undiagnosed cases through active house-to-house search
Key: A campaign-mode active case-finding drive under NLEP; the Indore workshop devoted a full session, led by the WHO National Programme Officer, to improving its quality and outcomes
Prevent leprosy among the contacts of a diagnosed patient
Key: Eligible contacts of an index case are given a single dose of rifampicin to break the chain of transmission
Create mass awareness and reduce stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy
Key: Launched on 30 January 2017, Anti-Leprosy Day - observed on the martyrdom day of Mahatma Gandhi, who worked closely on the cause
'Towards zero leprosy' - zero infection and disease, zero disability, zero stigma and discrimination
Key: Four pillars: country-owned zero-leprosy road maps, scaled-up prevention with active case detection, management of complications to prevent disability, and combating stigma while protecting human rights
Runs NLEP at the national level and organised the Indore workshop
Apex institute for leprosy diagnosis, referral, training and research; a subordinate office of DGHS since 1974
Regional training of medical and paramedical manpower and operational research for NLEP; RLTRI Raipur led the contact-tracing session at Indore
Sets the elimination threshold and the global leprosy strategy and supports the free MDT supply; its National Programme Officer led the LCDC session
Removed leprosy as a ground for divorce or separation, amending five statutes - the Divorce Act 1869, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, the Special Marriage Act 1954, the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956
Recognises 'leprosy cured person' as one of the specified disabilities, covering those left with loss of sensation, deformity or paresis after cure, and extends the Act's protections to them
Leprosy is one of the neglected tropical diseases the WHO tracks; national elimination targets for such diseases are a recurring theme in health governance questions
The 2019 personal-law amendment and the RPwD Act 2016 show a legal shift from treating leprosy as a disqualification to treating affected persons as rights-holders - the 'zero discrimination' limb of the national plan
House-to-house search plus contact tracing plus prophylaxis is the same architecture used in other elimination efforts; the Indore sessions on retrospective and reverse contact tracing illustrate how the last mile differs from routine detection
GS Paper 2 > Governance > Issues relating to Health; Government Policies and Interventions
General Awareness > Government Schemes and Health Programmes
General Awareness > National Health Programmes
Disease-elimination programmes appear regularly in Prelims and in GS2 governance questions
Halting new indigenous infections so that no fresh locally acquired leprosy cases arise in a defined area - the goal beyond elimination
The WHO-recommended combination antibiotic regimen for leprosy, recommended from 1982 and provided free through government facilities in India
Single Dose Rifampicin Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, given to eligible contacts of a leprosy patient to prevent onward transmission
Visible deformity or damage in a leprosy patient; its rate per million population is the standard indicator of late detection
Campaign-mode active house-to-house case search under NLEP to find hidden cases