Niger

History of Leprosy in Niger

During the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries leprosy spread through Africa downwards from the East.

According to the Human Development Index rankings of the United Nations Development Programme the Republic of Niger is one of poorest nations in the world. In the 1990s there were three physicians per 100,000 people. In addition there were 38 medical centres and 98 dispensaries throughout the country. As of 1999, it was estimated that there were fewer than 0.05 physicians per 1,000 people and 0.1 hospital beds. (nationsencyclopedia.com)

In 1995 there were 4,044 cases of leprosy; there were 2804 registered cases in 1998. In 1999 there were 2.6 cases per 10,000 inhabitants. 1760 cases of leprosy were detected in 2000. By 2002 it achieved a target set by the World Health Organization to reduce the number of cases of leprosy to less than one case per 10,000 population.*

In Niger people affected by leprosy face stigma, discrimination and rejection by members of their communities. Even medical staff have been known to reject them on the basis of their ulcers and other forms of leprosy-related complications. They tend to go to specialist centres for treatment or form communities in different regions of their country. In Maradi, Zinder and Niamey, people affected by leprosy have been evicted by the Government several times. In Niamey, some remain homeless. The main challenge continues to be the high level of poverty, which had led to begging as the only option for people to feed their families. There is no specific action planned by the Government to address the socio-economic rehabilitation of people affected by leprosy, but there are some non-governmental organisations that make such provision. Few children of people affected by leprosy attend secondary school owing to the living situation of their parents.

Of the new leprosy cases detected in the Maradi region of Niger, 73 were treated and managed by the Danja Community Hospital.

Photo: Fight against leprosy stamp issued 1964

* See article Leprosy in Niger for more recent information about leprosy in this country.

Search for further information about leprosy in Niger through the Global Project on the History of Leprosy: http://www.leprosyhistory.org/