Dr. Prasad Ranaweera, Director of the Leprosy Campaign, has highlighted that Sri Lanka has the third-highest incidence of child leprosy globally. He expressed concern that, for the past two decades, 10 percent of leprosy cases reported annually in the country are children under 15 years old, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
To address this issue, efforts are underway to distribute calendars with leprosy eradication messages to 2,000 schools in districts identified as having the highest risk of the disease. The focus is on 83 divisional secretariat divisions where leprosy has not been eradicated. Dr. Ranaweera stressed the importance of raising awareness and implementing programs to promptly identify and treat children showing symptoms of leprosy. Fortunately, childhood leprosy is not contagious, allowing for swift identification and intervention.
Dr. Ranaweera urged adults to play a crucial role in preventing the transmission of leprosy to children, emphasizing the need for families to be vigilant and take steps to ensure their homes are leprosy-free.
