Reported cases of Leprosy in Solomons
Quoting the Island Sun Newspaper – 1 February 2019
“THREE provinces have reported the most cases of leprosy, and the nation’s capital Honiara sits on top as having the most number of settlements with reported cases.
“This was confirmed to Island Sun by Ben Riki, Supervising Director in the health promotion department of the Ministry of Health Medical Services (MHMS).
“Mr Riki said the three provinces are Guadalcanal, Malaita and Honiara City, and this is according to the country’s national leprosy data.
“He said most of these reported cases come from mountainous areas, particularly central Guadalcanal and North-East Guadalcanal.
“He stressed that the increasing rate of leprosy situation has further reinforced the TB leprosy unit in the MHMS to strategically come up with a ve-years plan, 2018 to 2025, to help eliminate the disease.
“The plan is to advocate discrimination, stigma and prejudice associated with leprosy and reviewing of the leprosy guideline for the eradication strategy. Also to conduct an annual endless leprosy campaign and special action project for eradication in hotspot areas across the provinces and having continuous training for medical ocers and CBR staffs to help them conduct annual disability assessment among those with disability.”
Copyright @ 2019, Island Sun newspaper.
