The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday began a two-day review-cum-capacity building workshop under the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, with a focus on strengthening early detection, contact tracing and treatment to accelerate efforts to interrupt leprosy transmission.
Organised by the Central Leprosy Division (CLD) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the workshop brought together more than 70 health officials, technical experts and development partners to review the implementation of NLEP and identify gaps requiring focused intervention.
Participants included senior officials from the Directorate General of Health Services, Central Leprosy Division, State Leprosy Officers, Chief Medical and Health Officers, District Leprosy Officers from all 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh, district consultants, representatives of RLTRI Raipur and Aska Institute, technical development partners and the Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy (APAL).
The discussions focused on the epidemiological situation, programme performance, implementation challenges and sharing of field-level experiences and best practices. Strengthening early case detection, contact tracing, timely initiation and completion of treatment, prevention of disabilities and intensified surveillance were identified as key priorities for the last-mile strategy to interrupt transmission.
The workshop opened with a welcome address by the State Leprosy Officer of Madhya Pradesh, followed by a special address by the Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services.
Technical sessions on the first day covered the epidemiological scenario of leprosy in Madhya Pradesh, focused strategies under NLEP, improving the quality and outcomes of the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC), and strengthening retrospective and reverse contact tracing.
Deputy Director General (Leprosy) Dr Sunil V. Gitte stressed the need to use programme data to identify priority districts and areas requiring intensified surveillance and targeted interventions. He also highlighted the importance of bringing the prevalence rate below one case per 10,000 population through improved detection, contact tracing, timely treatment and disability prevention.
Dr Rashmi Shukla, National Programme Officer, WHO, conducted a session on improving the quality and outcomes of LCDC, focusing on strengthening campaign implementation and the effectiveness of case detection activities.
A separate session led by Dr Sandeep Jogdand of RLTRI Raipur focused on retrospective and reverse contact tracing. The session provided technical guidance on identifying potentially missed or undiagnosed cases and improving understanding of transmission patterns within affected communities.
The technical sessions were followed by an experience-sharing and brainstorming session involving District Leprosy Officers from across Madhya Pradesh. Officials from Alirajpur, Anuppur, Barwani, Burhanpur and Dhar shared field experiences, operational challenges and district-level measures being taken to improve early detection, timely treatment and disability prevention.
The session also promoted peer learning and helped identify practical approaches that could be replicated across districts. The Vice-President of APAL shared insights on early case detection and community-level action, highlighting the importance of involving persons affected by leprosy and strengthening community participation in programme implementation.
The workshop will continue on August 20 with further technical deliberations and capacity-building sessions aimed at consolidating district-level strategies and strengthening targeted interventions towards the national goal of interrupting leprosy transmission.
