With an aim to break myth and stigma surrounding leprosy - India accounts for 60 percent of global cases-- and work towards the socio- economic development of those affected by the crippling disease and their families, a three-day Youth Festival 'Youth against Leprosy' was kicked off from Monday here.
Several youths from leprosy colonies across the city have congregated at the festival organised by Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation (SILF), an organisation that focuses on creating economic opportunities for leprosy-affected people.
Vineeta Shanker, executive director of the SILF said that idea behind holding the Youth Festival, bringing youth and stakeholders under one roof here, is to make the younger generation aware about the disease. "They have a little idea or understanding on leprosy as a disease. Whatever little they may know comes from family and friends and is often vague and reaffirms the stigma against the disease."
It is unfortunate that despite being non contagious and fully curable, leprosy is still considered as a curse and the myth is still there that whoever will get in touch with these people will get affected, Shanker said. She pointed out that "In 2005, while we were applauding ourselves, we did not look deep enough to see the regional variations. That, in itself, should have given us a pointer that this problem was far from over."
Tehseen Zaidi, Communications and Advocacy Manager with SILF informed that the collaborations like Youth Festival provides a platform for the youth from the sector to share their ideas and challenges in tackling the disease.
Prestigious Rise to Dignity Awards is being given for the hard work and dedication shown by persons affected by leprosy who are now effiscimination iciently running livelihood enterprises. "This initiative has enabled them to make a successful transition from begging to a dignified livelihood," said Tehseen.
The awardees of the 8th Rising to Dignity Awards-2018 are two groups from Indore, Madhya Pradesh and Kamareddy District in Telangana. An all women group of Indore, dealing in Sari retailing project and a mix group of men and women from Vendrikal, Kamareddy running Dairy and Goat Rearing (Agricultural Development and financing) project have won the award.
India still accounts for 60 per cent of new cases reported globally.
In the year 2007, new cases detected in India were 137,685, and nine years later in 2016, the number remained almost the same at 135,485, a significant increase over the 127,326 new cases detected in 2015, according to a study.