OREANDA-NEWS. May 22, 2012. Tata Steel  Family Initiatives Foundation (TSFIF), an operating arm of Corporate  Sustainability Services, Tata Steel, in partnership with the Govt. of  Jharkhand, organized a one-day workshop on initiatives taken to address leprosy.  The workshop was held at Tribal Culture Centre, Sonari. The key objective of  the workshop was to share learnings from the decade-long implementation of  leprosy programmes and to explore the way forward, in consultation with senior  representatives from the government and other non-government organisations.

Addressing  the workshop, Dr H B Barwar, State Leprosy Officer, Jharkhand, said that the  concerted effort to check the rate of prevalence of leprosy, particularly among  children, has been intensified and that measures like capacity building of  medical officers for timely diagnosis and treatment has been initiated. These  have helped in improving the quality of medical services in treating leprosy.  As on March 2012, in Jharkhand, the prevalence rate (per 10,000 population) is  0.59 which is less than the national average of 0.72.

Dr  P V Ranganadha Rao, LEPRA India emphasized upon the importance of completing  prescribed course of MDT to treat leprosy. Dr Rao lauded the services provided  by SPARSH centre in Jamadoba, a joint intervention of Tata Steel Rural Development  Society and LEPRA India, in spreading awareness and aiding in the eradication  of this disease.

Speaking  on the occasion, Mr Atul Kumar, Sasakawa India, Leprosy Foundation, shared with  the attendees, the socio-economic rehabilitation program aimed at creating and  enhancing the income generation opportunities for the rehabilitated population  affected with leprosy. These solutions, he said, are feasible, viable,  marketable and sustainable.

Dr  S P Sood, ILEP State Coordinator, Jharkhand narrated cases to explain the  linkage between disability and societal discrimination. He also stated the  importance of PoD (prevention of disability) measures.

Dr  T P Madhusudanan, General Manager, Medical Services welcomed the gathering. Mr  Biren Ramesh Bhuta, Chief, Corporate Sustainability Services informed that Tata  Steel runs a centre for treating leprosy patients at Jamadoba and deliberated on  the methods in which this issue is being addressed there. He further reinforced  the importance of public private initiatives in addressing health issues. Mr  Bhuta thanked the state and the district health officials, the representatives  from civil society and the programme team for their role in addressing the  issue of leprosy.

Government  officials, members of NGO, members of Civil Society and others also shared  their experiences regarding the disease and methods of eradicating it.

Leprosy  is a leading cause of permanent physical disability. While the incidences of  leprosy in India have reduced to below one for every 10,000 people, the country  is committed to eliminating the disease by continual leprosy control  activities.