The Union Health Ministry's Central Leprosy Division organized a two-day National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) Review-cum-Capacity Building Workshop in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, commencing on 19 August 2026. The workshop brought together more than 70 participants including the Additional Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Deputy Director General (Leprosy), Central Leprosy Division officials, representatives from RLTRI Raipur and Aska Institute, State Leprosy Officers, Chief Medical and Health Officers, District Leprosy Officers from all 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh, District Consultants, technical development partners, and a representative of APAL.
The primary objective was to strengthen programme implementation, enhance technical capacities, and accelerate focused action toward achieving Interruption of Transmission (IoT) of leprosy. Deliberations focused on reviewing the epidemiological situation, assessing programme performance, identifying implementation gaps, and sharing field-level experiences and best practices. Key emphasis was placed on strengthening early case detection, contact tracing, timely initiation and completion of treatment, prevention of disabilities, and intensified surveillance as critical components of the last-mile strategy.
Technical sessions included an epidemiological scenario review of leprosy in Madhya Pradesh led by Dr. Sunil V. Gitte, Deputy Director General (Leprosy), who highlighted the importance of leveraging programme data to identify priority districts and areas requiring intensified surveillance. The session emphasized implementing focused strategies to bring the prevalence rate below 1 per 10,000 population. Dr. Rashmi Shukla, National Programme Officer from WHO, led a session on improving the quality and outcomes of the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC), while Dr. Sandeep Jogdand from RLTRI Raipur conducted a technical session on Retrospective and Reverse Contact Tracing to identify potentially missed cases and understand transmission dynamics.
District Leprosy Officers from Alirajpur, Anuppur, Barwani, Burhanpur, and Dhar shared their field experiences, highlighting programme performance, operational challenges, priority areas, and district-level actions for strengthening early case detection, timely treatment, and disability prevention. The Vice-President of APAL shared practical insights on strengthening early case detection and community-level action, emphasizing the importance of incorporating perspectives of persons affected by leprosy. The workshop will continue on 20 August 2026 with further deliberations and capacity-building sessions to consolidate district-level strategies and accelerate interventions toward the national goal of Interruption of Leprosy Transmission.
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