There are many barriers to early detection.

Traditionally, the system relies on people seeking care and support themselves, by deciding to attend a clinic. 

But for many reasons; social, economic and geographical, people don’t, or can’t always do this. This is why so many people remain undiagnosed. 

We call them the ‘missing millions’.

This is exactly the problem that Lepra is working to address. We need to reach the missing millions so they can access the vital care and treatment they need in their lives. If the people don’t come to a health centre, then we need to go to them: Village-to-village, house-to-house, person-to-person, actively seeking out cases of leprosy and LF. We call this active case-finding. 

It is a more time-consuming and resource-intensive approach, but research clearly demonstrates its effectiveness. 

Lepra is now seeking to scale-up its ‘active case-finding’ work, so we can accelerate progress towards our vision of a world free from leprosy and LF. This is the transformational change we want to see in the world. 

But we can’t do it alone. We need your help.

Throughout our 100-year history, Lepra has been at the forefront of care and support for people affected by leprosy and, latterly, LF. We have driven the development of new medications, innovative treatments, and advanced approaches to providing specialist care.

Lepra’s efforts are concentrated in some of the most endemic regions of India and Bangladesh, where the greatest impact can be achieved.

Read more about Lepra's ASPIRE project and our approach to active case-finding.