Accra Jan. 29, GNA- Mr. Kwakye Addo, NDC-Afram Plains South, on Thursday urged communities to help remove the stigmatisation attached to people suffering from Hansen's disease (leprosy). In a statement in Parliament to mark World Leprosy Day, commemorated every January 29, Mr. Addo said "still there is no doubt that leprosy is considered one of the stigmatised diseases in the country".

He said the country needed all available human and material resources to build a strong and prosperous nation and there was the need to assist people suffering from the disease to enable them live happy and normal lives.

The Member of Parliament said to help reduce the stigma attached to the disease the international community was using the name Hansen's disease "instead of words like leper, leprosy or victim."

"It might interest members to know that the disease has been curtailed in Ghana and efforts are being made to ensure early detection and disability prevention. Ghana has been able to achieve the World Health Organisation's target of elimination, " he said. Mr. Addo said the World Leprosy Day was set aside to draw attention to the prevalence rate of the disease, the causes and available treatment.

"The millennium has witnessed no let-up in the fight against leprosy...available evidence strongly suggest that a significant leprosy problem will continue to exist..."

He said services to detect and manage leprosy must therefore be sustained".

Mr. Kwasi Akomea Kyeremateng, NPP-Afigya-Sekyere East, who associated himself with the statement, spoke against stigmatisation and commended the Catholic Church and health workers for supporting leprosy patients.