Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms, legs, and skin areas around the body.
18 states in Nigeria are experiencing a leprosy epidemic, with a record 1,095 new cases in 2018, according to the federal government.
Reports state that during the 2020 World Leprosy Day, minister of state for health Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora said the West African country was containing the crisis.
However, efforts to curtail the disease to one leprosy case for every 10,000 people are being made through the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme that has treated more than 33,000 patients since 2009.
The disease has been around since ancient times and is often surrounded by terrifying, negative stigmas and tales of leprosy patients being treated as outcasts.
