The development approach must necessarily be multi-sectoral, which means that it must involve different governmental, non-governmental and community partners, in defining the priority activities and their implementation.
Sensitivity to the gender issues： Though there are a few studies on the way leprosy affects the lives of women, this issue needs to be studied more adequately. Leprosy programmes do need to make sure that women benefit from all the different rehabilitation activities.
Promoting involvement of non-leprosy organisations： The resources for rehabilitation of leprosy affected persons are limited and organisations involved in leprosy-related activities can not reach everywhere. On the other hand there are many international and national organisations which are working for community development in different sectors. It is important to reach these organisations to promote awareness about the needs of leprosy-affected persons and their families, so that they can also benefit from general development programmes.
The needs of persons with severe disabilities：
Most of the countries where leprosy is endemic, have some persons who may not benefit from a rehabilitation intervention and who often have severe chronic disabilities.
Such persons may be completely dependent upon others and need life-long care and support They are among the weakest members of any society. A civilised society needs to make sure that care services for such persons are maintained and they are not sacrificed in the name of pragmatism and best use of resources.
Conclusions： Even if we don't know about the exact numbers of persons with leprosy related disabilities there is much that can be done for promoting leprosy-affected persons to lead productive lives with dignity, integrated in the communities where they live. There is much that can be done to ensure that the basic human rights of persons affected with leprosy are respected. The present is full of challenges and opportunities. The future will depend on the way all of us make the best use of these opportunities.
S. Deepak, Associazione Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau (AIFO), Bologna, ITAIJY
