Exclusion faced by Leprosy patients

What is the issue?

For centuries the leprosy-affected people in India have been socially and legally excluded, now they are facing a digital isolation.

What is leprosy?

• Leprosy is caused by infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae.
• It is a chronic, curable infectious disease it affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract, and eyes.
• Symptoms include light-coloured or red skin patches with reduced sensation, numbness and weakness in hands and feet.
• The disease is now readily treatable with multi-drug therapy within 6-12 months, which combines three drugs to kill the pathogen and cure the victim.
• Disability and disfigurement can be avoided if the disease is treated early.
• India officially became leprosy free in the year 2005, amidst of this fact there are majority of cases are being reported from India.

What are the problems faced by leprosy patients in India?

• Stigma against the disease due to its disfigurement causes its victims to be isolated and shunned.
• Most of the patients cannot receive government pension and rations, since the patients don’t have a permanent address.
• As many patients don’t have thumbs or fingers for the fingerprint scanner to read, they are denied from the benefits claimed using smart cards.
• Unfortunately, even the iris scanners do not work for them.
• If the person who normally gets the ration is indisposed or out of station, the family has to forgo supplies that month.
• To the social isolation the patients are choosing begging as a livelihood option.
• There are reported rackets of trafficking of these patients for organ transplantation.

What are the discriminating acts of Indian government?

• Laws in the states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa prohibit leprosy patients from running in local elections.
• These laws have been supported by the national government, as evidenced when India's Supreme Court upheld a ruling by the state of Orissa prohibiting leprosy patients from participating in local elections.
• Motor Vehicle Act of 1939 which restricts leprosy patients from obtaining a driving license.
• The Indian Rail Act of 1990 prohibits leprosy patients from traveling by train.
• Almost all of the marriage and divorce laws of India consider leprosy as grounds for divorce with the Special Marriage Act of 1954 declaring leprosy "incurable."

Way forward

• Many of the laws of Indian government were passed before the development of multi-drug therapy (MDT) and they have not been updated since.
• These laws do not reflect the current understanding of leprosy, and it leads to the fear of leprosy being worse than the disease itself.
• Nodal agencies must work out a solution to address the distress being faced by the leprosy affected people.
• The Civil Supplies, Municipal Administration and other departments must address the exempt those affected from fingerprint scans.

Source: The Hindu