Unreported World meets remarkable people fighting back against leprosy in India, where millions affected by the disease are pushed to the margins of society, ostracised by their friends and families.
Based on targets set by the World Health Organization, the Indian government claims it has eliminated leprosy. However Unreported World reveals the numbers of new cases in some areas could be much higher than previously estimated.
Reporter Seyi Rhodes and producer Richard Cookson begin their journey at a leprosy colony on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the south east of the country.
They meet local leader Narsappa, who caught the disease 30 years ago. Like some of the other residents in the colony he has been cured and is no longer contagious. Despite this they are all forced to live together because they're not welcome anywhere else.
Narsappa tells Rhodes that when he was diagnosed, his neighbours shunned him and his mother grieved for him as if he was dead. He was abandoned at the local hospital when he was just ten years old. Narsappa says he's now driven to stop others going through the same experience.
At a funeral that night for another sufferer, the discrimination many face is brought home. Narsappa's friend has died and has to be buried in a patch of waste ground next to the public cemetery. Even after death some believe the disease is still contagious so those affected are buried in graves away from everyone else.
In 2005, the Indian government declared that leprosy had been eliminated. However, the Unreported World team obtains leaked documents which suggest the official figures don't show the true scale of the disease. In one Indian state, health workers found the number of people infected was five times the official estimate.
Rhodes and Cookson accompany Narsappa and a group of colony residents to the local health directorate to demand supplies for their clinic, which has run out of stock. But, like on previous visits, they leave with only promises.
The team moves on to Naini Hospital in Allahabad. It's India's largest leprosy hospital and is run by UK based charity The Leprosy Mission. Senior surgeon Dr Premal Das tells Rhodes that his hospital saw 3,000 new leprosy cases last year - more than any previous year - but the budget has been cut by 20 per cent because it is practically impossible to raise money for leprosy when the government claims it has been eliminated.
The team films one of his patients - 16-year-old Pooja - as she undergoes surgery to correct deformities in her hand. The next day the crew follow Pooja home after weeks in hospital, but how will she be received and will she overcome the stigma so many of her fellow patients have to endure?
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On TV
First Shown
| Date | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 25 March 2011 | 7.30PM | Channel 4 |
Last Shown
| Date | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 25 March 2011 | 7.30PM | Channel 4 |
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