Indonesia Ranks Third Globally in Leprosy Cases, Survivors Face Stigma
Indonesia remains the country with the third-highest number of leprosy cases in the world. Behind the thousands of new cases discovered each year, leprosy survivors must still face another equally formidable challenge: stigma and discrimination from society.
Leprosy survivor Syamsul Iman admitted to experiencing bullying and being shunned by his community after being diagnosed with the disease. Yet, according to him, leprosy is a curable disease if detected early and treated thoroughly. "I was once taken to a shaman; neighbours said it was a curse. But after being examined, I had leprosy and could be cured," Syamsul said.
Syamsul is just one of many leprosy survivors serving as a reminder that the challenge of tackling leprosy is not only about treatment, but also about eradicating the stigma that makes many sufferers reluctant to seek examination until they eventually arrive at health facilities already experiencing disability.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that Indonesia is still the country with the third-highest number of leprosy cases globally and finds around 14,000 to 16,000 new leprosy cases each year. However, this figure is estimated not to reflect the actual situation because many cases remain undetected.
The government is targeting a higher case detection rate of around 37,000 to 40,000 cases per year. Budi said that the more patients found, the faster they receive treatment, so transmission can be halted. "The number found each year is 14,000. We want to increase it, if possible, to 37,000 to 40,000," Budi said at the 2026 National Leprosy Conference in Jakarta.
He explained that leprosy patients who begin treatment no longer transmit the disease. Family members living in the same house will also be given preventive therapy so the risk of transmission can be suppressed.
To accelerate case detection, the Ministry of Health will integrate leprosy screening into the Free Health Check-up programme. Individuals found to have white patches accompanied by numbness will be immediately examined further and given treatment if confirmed to have leprosy. "This is a treatable disease and should not be stigmatised as a curse or something that can spread everywhere. Because once we take the medicine, this disease is no longer contagious," he said.
The government is also collaborating with regional administrations through the signing of a commitment by 38 governors to accelerate leprosy elimination. Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno emphasised that tackling leprosy cannot rely solely on the health sector, but also requires support from the education, social, religious, communication, and employment sectors so that stigma against survivors can be eliminated.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian assured that the leprosy control programme will be a focus in regional development planning. Regional governments are encouraged to include leprosy elimination programmes in planning and budgeting documents, and their success will even be considered as one of the indicators for providing incentives to regions.
World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, Yohei Sasakawa, assessed Indonesia’s approach of actively seeking as many patients as possible as an innovative strategy. According to Sasakawa, this policy could serve as an example for other countries because many patients currently only seek treatment after their disease is too late to manage. "I think this innovative policy can be used as a model for other countries. Indonesia is the first country to implement this strategy," Sasakawa said.