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May
19, 2000
Thakurgaon,
May 18 (UNB)- About 30,000 people in four districts of the region
suffering from leprosy are yet to get proper treatment although the
government has been campaigning to remove the curse of the disease
from the country by the end of this year.
Official
statistics show that the government and NGOs are providing treatment
free of cost. Despite that the number of leprosy patients swelled to
25,000 in Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Rangpur and Nilphamari districts.
Some 5,000 of them have already rendered disabled.
Leprosy
patients are given treatment in thana health complexes of the
government while NGOs are operating leprosy control units in 23
districts.
According
to a survey conducted by Denis-Bangladesh Leprosy Mission here, 50
percent of the country’s total 80,000 leprosy patients are in the
four districts.
The
mission treated over 30,000 patients in these districts during the
last 22 years.
Thousands
of leprosy patients are now getting treatment in
three hospitals and 60 centres in the four districts.
In
rural areas people have age-old belief that leprosy is a curse from
Allah. They usually avoid the leprosy patients. Even after one is
cured he does not have easy access of mixing with others. As a result
many patients try to conceal the disease and avoid treatment from the
leprosy hospitals.
In
a bid to remove the disease, door to door search is needed to locate
the patients and steps to rehabilitate them after they are cured.
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