Discussion
This study aimed to explore the experiences of people living with and affected by leprosy in Nigeria. Using data and statistics gotten from all six geo-political zones of Nigeria. The findings from this study showed that the majority of participants were familiar with the signs and symptoms of the disease, while just above a tenth revealed a good knowledge level about the cause of leprosy. The low knowledge level of causes might be attributed to lack of awareness programs which can be somewhat attributed to the effectiveness of leprosy control initiatives and awareness campaigns. This study showed that most of the participants did not know how leprosy was being transmitted, and this differs from a similar study in Eastern Ethiopia where more than half of study participants who are PLWL knew about leprosy transmission in Eastern Ethiopia.Poor knowledge of the cause of leprosy, and it’s mode of transmission among people livng with leprosy pose a publc health challenge, because these individuals would not be exercising the needed precautionary measures to prevent disease transmission.
In this study, the majority of respondents believe that leprosy is treatable. This result tallies with that reported in Southeast Ethiopia where respondents believe that leprosy can be treated with pharmaceutical drugs, and is in sharp contrast with another study in Mexico where a majority of PLWL do not know if leprosy is treatable or not. According to these findings, two-thirds of participants believed leprosy to be a source of shame, disdain, and embarrassment. This is similar to those observed in Thailand and Ethiopia where respondents would deliberately avoid leprosy patients
Although results from this study mentioned that stigmatization has been reduced greatly because of the interventions by Nongovernmental organizations, people living with leprosy still mentioned that there is still stigmatization against leprosy in Nigeria. This has also been reported by India in 2019 where people living with leprosy mentioned that if they had known they would not have sought help concerning their condition because of shame and stigma from people in their surrounding environment
Similar to our findings on stigmatization faced by people living with leprosy, a systematic review done in 2022 (Abdul et al., 2022), revealed that people living with leprosy are often concerned about their physical appearance which limit their ability to socialize with other people. The study also identified the economic burden of the disease on the patients who have to pay for their transportation to the health centres to access the free treatment. Further, the physical disabilities associated with leprosy and its symptoms limit their abilities to work, causing loss of income and unemployment. This supports the findings of our research, where a respondent stated that they can’t freely go out to do business because people are afraid to buy from them.
Although NGOs have been at the forefront of the fight against leprosy in Nigeria and they have been doing very well, the government needs to take their front row in the fight. One way this can be done is to separate National TB and Leprosy Agency into two because the government has given a lot of attention has been given to Tuberculosis over leprosy over the years. This has been reported by Ogbeiwi, 2005 who indicated inadequate reporting due to less attention on leprosy compared to tuberculosis in recent years by the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme has shifted the whole burden of care and management of people with leprosy to ILEP members ILEP is the federation of autonomous anti-leprosy non-governmental organizations. This will provide more oversight, centralization of care, improved policy implementation, clear government funding at national and sub-national levels, and ensure coordinationThis study recommends the empowerment of Persons affected with leprosy, increasing the awareness of leprosy, improved intervention from government and Organizations, and provision of basic amenities by the government.