India struggles to curb leprosy transmission
India's leprosy eradication program is currently missing key targets for 2025-26, with new cases significantly exceeding projections. While the national prevalence rate remains below the elimination threshold, the disease remains geographically concentrated in specific states and districts.
Why it matters
The data highlights significant gaps in public health infrastructure and the need for more targeted interventions to reach the goal of eliminating leprosy transmission.
India’s leprosy programme is falling short of several projections set for 2025-26. The country reported 91,783 new leprosy cases in 2025-26, 41.2% higher than the projected 65,000. New cases among children were 91.6% above the projection while the rate of Grade 2 Disability (G2D) among new cases was 1.34 per million, against a projected one per million.
India’s national prevalence rate was 0.56 cases per 10,000 population at the end of March 2026, below the elimination target of a prevalence rate below one case per 10,000.
But the burden remains concentrated geographically. Chhattisgarh had the highest prevalence among States/UTs at 1.66 cases per 10,000 population, followed by Jharkhand (1.51), Chandigarh (1.49), Odisha (1.25) and Maharashtra (1.14).
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