Novartis India Ltd, a pharmaceuticals company, has screened for leprosy 42,333 people, with a prophylactic dose for prevention of transmission of leprosy being given to 30,295 eligible persons. 42 new cases of leprosy were detected in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Annual Report 2018-19 said.
It spent around 40 Lakh rupees towards Leprosy post exposure prophylaxis programme.
The Company spent Rs. 2 crore on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.
“India has around 60% of the world’s leprosy caseload and leprosy continues to be an area of focus for the Company’s CSR work in India,’ company said.
Company launched Leprosy Post Exposure Prophylaxis (LPEP) project in the union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli in March 2015 and continued during the financial year under review.
Refresher training was conducted for 3 research assistants, 1 project supervisor, 17 medical officers, 57 PHC staff, 134 auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), 300 accredited social health activists (ASHAs) from general healthcare, who were trained in leprosy as well as in the LPEP project.
The Company also supported a NGO in Telangana to set up an integrated health management system, which will result in digitization of over 22,000 leprosy records, aiming to eventually drive early diagnosis of leprosy.
The Company continues to support various initiatives in the areas of health, education and environment.
