HC Deb 16 November 1949 vol 469 cc208-10W
62. Mr. Sorensen

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what further steps are being taken to deal with leprosy in Nigeria and other West African colonies; what is the total amount of money available from all sources to deal with this disease; and whether any reliable estimates exist to show if the incidence of leprosy is increasing or decreasing.

Mr. Creech Jones

The answer to the first part of the Question is given in the statement below.

As regards the second and third parts of the Question, it is not possible to estimate how much of the total expenditure on Medical Services is devoted to the treatment of any particular disease. No statistics exist at present which would show reliably whether the incidence of leprosy is increasing or decreasing in West Africa.

Anti-leprosy measures in West Africa

In Nigeria there is a fully organised Leprosy Service and arrangements are being made for this Service to extend its activities from the areas in the south where previously its intensive operations were carried out to the whole Territory. Missionary bodies, already extensively engaged in leprosy work are being brought fully into the programme. An experienced leprosy research officer has recently been appointed to the Government Service.

A comprehensive scheme for the future has been drafted and is now under consideration. This scheme involves a very heavy expenditure and the extent to which it will be possible to implement it will depend on the relation this heavy expenditure bears to the needs of other social services and the finances of the Territory as a whole.

In the Gold Coast there are five refuges for lepers. A full-time leprosy officer and 10 lay assistants have been appointed and have taken up their duties. It is intended that three leprosaria should be established to cover the country. Each will have accommodation for 2,000 patients. Native authorities will be helped to establish leprosy villages where the inhabitants will lead a normal life under medical supervision from the nearest leprosarium. The rate of progress in implementing these proposals will depend largely upon the availability of medical staff of all grades, many of whom must be trained locally.

In Sierra Leone a permanent form of organisation for the control of leprosy is being planned. The co-operation of the Evangelical Brethren United Mission and the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association has been secured and a grant has been made from the Colonial Development and Welfare funds.

In the Gambia plans for the reorganisation of Leprosy Services are well advanced. These include the construction of a new Government Leprosarlum, which will function as a training centre for local staff and also serve as a valuable instrument in propaganda. In both Sierra Leone and the Gambia progress is at the moment hampered by the difficulty of obtaining suitably qualified staff.