Sustainable development of leprosy elimination by 2030 in China
Leprosy is a curable chronic infectious disease, which occurs in more than 120 countries, with more than 200,000 new cases reported every year. WHO released the second blueprint Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: A road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030 (NTD Road map 2030) for neglected tropical diseases prevention, control, and elimination, which calls for multisectoral collaboration and accelerated programmatic actions to eliminate leprosy, as the number of countries with zero new autochthonous leprosy cases is projected to increase from 50 in 2020 to 120 in 2030.
In China, a total of over 8500 cases of leprosy were diagnosed and treated nationwide from 2011 to 2022. Guided by the National Plan for the Elimination of Leprosy Threats (2011–2020), efforts have been vigorously made towards leprosy prevention and control, focusing on epidemic-prone areas and high-risk populations