Benin moves closer to eliminating leprosy

In 2012, Benin detected 243 cases of leprosy out of an estimated population of 9 million, an equivalent of 0.26 people in every 10,000 inhabitants, according to the coordinator for the national program for the fight against leprosy. Dr. Didier Agossadou told Xinhua on Tuesday that with this low rate of detection, Benin was moving towards the elimination of leprosy throughout the West African country. The coordinator said the encouraging results came from a therapeutic revolution launched in the 1980s against leprosy. "Benin was among the first Francophone countries in West Africa to adopt the new therapeutic method known as Polychemotherapy (PCT) ," he revealed. He attributed the good results also to a national anti-leprosy program, the training of medical staff; improved treatment services and the financial support from both national and international NGOs.