Fight against leprosy needs collective effort, says Ansari

Vice-President Hamid Ansari today said the fight against leprosy has to be a collective effort of government, NGOs and civil society.
Making an appeal to bring the leprosy-affected people into the mainstream, he said the work of rehabilitation started by Mahatma Gandhi for the affected had not yet ended.
Speaking at a function organised by International Leprosy Union-Health Alliance (ILU-HA), Ansari said "there are many misconceptions people carry but it has to be understood that leprosy is not God's curse and is just an infectious disease and should be cured as such."
The Vice-President said information campaigns in high- risk areas were crucial so that patients can come forward and receive proper treatment.

The most effective way of preventing disabilities and transmission of the disease lies in an early diagnosis and treatment with multi-drug therapy (MDT), he maintained.
Ansari felicitated ten women health workers with the Kushtha Sevak Mahila Puraskar on the occasion.