Inequities towards leprosy-affected people: A challenge during COVID-19 pandemic
Sharika Mahato, Srijana Bhattarai, Rakesh Singh
Abstract
following the recommendations of the Emergency Committee, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus disease as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern [1]. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the countries, burden of COVID-19 has reached to 215 nations in the world by June 19, 2020, with 8,750,990 cases, 461,820 deaths, and 4,620,378 recoveries according to Worldometer COVID-19 data. Of that, 20.75% of the cases and 10.04% of the deaths have been reported from Asia. While India alone accounted for 395,812 cases and 12,970 deaths, Indonesia reported 43,803 cases and 12,970 deaths, and Nepal ranked 25th among Asian countries with 8,274 cases and 22 deaths due to COVID-19. The increasing burden of COVID-19 accompanied by travel restrictions, lockdown measures, and restrictions on social gatherings and activities have disrupted several lives. Not only a health crisis has been brought by the COVID-19 pandemic: It is affecting societies and economies at their core and will most likely increase poverty and inequalities at a global scale, making achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) even more urgent Moreover, the nationwide lockdown accompanied by travel restrictions have been threatening all citizens, with greater impact on vulnerable social groups (including those affected with leprosy) for accessing healthcare services in particular.