The Cure
Curing leprosy is a complex process, as leprosy is a social condition as well as a physical ailment. The Leprosy Mission focuses on providing holistic care in order to fully help a patient overcome this disease.
 Leprosy, which is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, is most commonly cured by a combination of three drugs: Dapsone, Rifampicin and Clofazimine. This is known as Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT). When administered to patients in the early stages of infection, MDT can cure leprosy in as little as 6 months. A more advanced case could take up to 2 years to cure. The Novartis Foundation provides these three drugs, free of charge, to the World Health Organization (WHO). The medication is then provided to the governments of countries where leprosy is a public health concern. In the countries where The Leprosy Mission works, our staff order the medication from the government.
The cost of $350 per cure is based on a sampling of our work in our three focus regions: Africa, South Asia (including India) and South East Asia. It includes finding and diagnosing patients, providing various medications, monitoring patient reactions, and where possible, providing free surgery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, ulcer care, vocational training and the treatment of painful nerve reactions. In addition, we work within the communities, educating people about the reality of leprosy. This reduces the stigma against those with leprosy, and allows the patients to return to greater acceptance and participation in their communities.
Some of our community-based activities include:
Increased capacity for hospital care: Leprosy patients may have many other medical issues. We are already working to expand the range of medical care available in each hospital.
Increased activity in preventing disability: With proper care, many disabilities can be prevented. Our surgeons, physicians and therapists are able to provide innovative solutions to disabilities associated with leprosy.
Training health care workers: Governments and regional health care professionals are requesting an increased involvement by The Leprosy Mission in training health care workers. This is exciting, because as more health care workers understand leprosy, more patients will receive the care they need in a timely manner.
Education: Even today, when we know that leprosy can be completely cured, many patients wait too long to get treatment or stop treatment before it can be fully effective. These patients are very susceptible to the damage leprosy causes. By teaching parents, children, teachers and health care workers, we can do so much more to stop the devastation leprosy causes.
Long term solutions: Reconstructive surgery, vocational training, and socio-economic interventions all contribute to the overall effectiveness of our work. We must provide each patient with the means to re-enter their community as independent men and women, able to earn their own living. With encouragement, education and economic assistance those affected by leprosy can live completely independently.
Thousands of Canadians every year support the full spectrum of the Mission's healing work and help us reach out to the whole person, helping them regain independence.
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