A Ceremony to mark the World Leprosy Day 2011 was held at Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MLC) in Karachi.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Sector, Government of Pakistan Shahnaz Wazir Ali in her address assured to extend all support to MLC society in its efforts to eradicate polio and tuberculosis (TB) from the country besides, blindness prevention.
Giving Keynote address, Dr. Ruth Pfau, Founder Member of MALC said that the achievement of gradual elimination of Leprosy from the country is because of the concerted efforts by a team of committed workers. She said that eradication is only possible once people stopped getting scared of the ailment and ensure timely diagnosis and treatment of the patients.
Dr Pfau appealed to do away with stigma attached to disease and tendency to ostracise the sufferers. “We need similarly control TB and prevent blindness in the country,” she stressed.
Dr. Mutaher Zia, National Medical Coordinator for Leprosy Control Program said that Karachi is focal point as it is also treating the patients from Balochistan and interior of Sindh province and even Afghan refugees and others parts of the country. He requested the doctors and especially the skin specialists to cooperate with MLC and provide necessary guidance to the patients to visit the centre.
Shakeel Ahmed, CEO-MLC in his presentation said that leprosy has been fully controlled yet the virus continues to persist. There is an estimated number of 20,000 people who continue to carry the virus.
He said it is because of the immunity that the virus fails to attack them yet these people were vulnerable and must be identified. The major challenge is to protect them against the deformities that are possible through timely and proper medication.
Shakeel Ahmed also announced that MLC will support the government in its anti-polio campaign and that all MLC centres across the country would provide oral polio vaccination facilities belonging to the concerned community.
On the occasion, patients and staff members of MLC also staged a drama depicting the plight of the patients and the important role of medical community as well as the society in general toward their rehabilitation.
Later, the MLC members who completed their 25 years of services were honoured with achievement awards which included Nasim Pervaiz, Nasr Khan from Kohistan, Arshadi Khatoon, Boota Masih, Ashok, Kaliyan , Rama Lingam, Ashok Kumar, Rehmatullah from Peshawar, Joseph Hidayat and Fateh Mohammed.