On 3rd November 2023, APAL’s President Mrs. Maya Ranavare, Dr. V R Pemmaraju – SHF, and Mr. Rama Varai Sah – APAL India had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Chintaram Hazarika, the State Leprosy Officer (SLO) at the Directorate of Health Services in Assam.
During the meeting, they discussed the activities of the Sasakawa Health Foundation, including the work of its Goodwill Ambassador for leprosy elimination, Mr. Sasakawa. They also introduced the activities of the Association of People Affected by Leprosy (APAL). Additionally, they presented the annual report for the year 2022-23 to SLO Assam.
suggested a meeting with the Managing Director of National Health Mission (MD NHM) to discuss the challenges faced in the program. During the meeting, they shared that there were high rates of new case detection in the Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts, and a special search activity was planned in early 2024 to address this issue. The special search activity would involve the participation of staff from tea gardens and civil society organizations.
They also informed MD NHM that no other leprosy NGO was currently active in Assam and that APAL in Assam needed reorganization and strengthening to better serve the community. In addition, they provided details about leprosy colonies and contact numbers of four persons affected by leprosy.
Finally, APAL organized a meeting with persons affected by leprosy on November 4, 2023, to facilitate their interaction with the organization.
