The Nigerian Association of Dermatologists has raised the alarm over a critical two-year shortage of multidrug therapy for leprosy patients across the country, warning that the absence of treatment is making a cure impossible for affected individuals.
The association disclosed that regulatory and administrative delays have prevented the clearance and distribution of essential medications, despite their procurement and donation through official World Health Organisation-approved channels.
It noted that the prolonged unavailability of the life-saving drugs has left patients in multiple states without access to treatment, leading to progressive nerve damage, disability, deformities, and continued community transmission.
According to the WHO, leprosy, also known as Hansen disease, is a chronic bacterial infectious disease that affects the skin, peripheral nerves, the upper respiratory tract, and the eyes, leading to physical deformity.
The global health agency notes that it is a neglected tropical disease that still occurs in more than 120 countries, with around 200,000 new cases reported every year.
PUNCH Healthwise earlier reported that although Nigeria met the World Health Organisation’s elimination target of one case per 10,000 population in 2000, leprosy remains a public health concern in the country, with more than 3,500 new cases recorded annually and many patients living with disability, stigma and discrimination.
Findings reveal that the country ran out of stock of the multi-drug therapy in early 2024 due to a bureaucratic delay in supplies and new domestic testing regulations.
But in early 2025, the WHO announced the shipment of the drugs to Nigeria after a yearlong holdup.
But in a statement sent to PUNCH Healthwise on Sunday to commemorate World Leprosy Day 2026, signed by the NAD President, Prof Dasetima Altraide, and the Secretary General, Dr Hauwa’u Makarfi, the association expressed deep concern over the situation.
