With the aim to provide healthcare services in rural and tribal communities to reduce disability among those with risk of nerve damage due to leprosy, Allcargo Logistics Ltd. supports the Leprosy Elimination Action Programme (LEAP) Project, with interventions in the Karjat and Khalapur blocks of Maharashtra’s Raigad District.
The LEAP project operates Leprosy Referral Centres (LRCs) – the patient centric intervention evolved under Alert India’s strategic program. The LRCs are strategically located at the block level, and are points of contact for those affected by Leprosy, including diagnosis, early detection of nerve damage, deformity care, physiotherapy, and counselling and health education for self care, among others. The project started in April 2023, and is set to operate for a year, until March 2024.
Between April and September 2023, a total of 1505 beneficiaries have been reached through the LRCs, and diagnostic services have been provided for 546 persons. Skin smear tests – crucial for detecting contagious strain of leprosy – were conducted in 62 cases. The interventions through the LRC helped detect 73 new leprosy cases, and in case of 50 persons, disability was prevented with early detection. In 100 other cases, deformity resulting from disability was prevented due to early intervention.
