Children in some of the world’s poorest communities are facing a growing risk of leprosy, as reductions in overseas aid undermine efforts to detect and treat the disease, according to The Leprosy Mission Great Britain.
The charity says new evidence from Asia and Africa shows children are increasingly at risk of leprosy, reaching levels not seen in years, despite the disease being curable with antibiotics if caught early.
The warning coincides with World Leprosy Day on January 25 and World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day on January 30.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, develops slowly and is only mildly infectious, yet its observable symptoms in children often indicate that the disease is widely circulating in the community.
Aid workers report uncovering new clusters of cases with unusually high numbers of young people affected — a trend they attribute to weakened health systems and reduced funding for outreach and early diagnosis.
In many settings, fear and misinformation continue to fuel severe stigma.
The Leprosy Mission documents cases in which children, along with their families, have been ostracised from schools, isolated at home, or subjected to violence after being labelled as cursed or unclean.
Such responses, the charity says, compound the physical effects of the disease with lasting psychological harm.
“The physical damage to young bodies is devastating — nerve damage, disability and pain. But the emotional damage is even deeper,” said Peter Waddup, chief executive of The Leprosy Mission Great Britain.
Campaigners argue the situation has been exacerbated by cuts to overseas development assistance in several high-income countries, including the UK, amid a wider political climate in which senior figures in the US have publicly dismissed the value of foreign aid.
Reduced funding has limited the ability of specialist teams to find cases early, distribute medication, and challenge harmful myths within communities.
According to the World Health Organisation, around 200,000 new cases of leprosy are diagnosed globally each year.
However, research cited by The Leprosy Mission suggests many more cases remain undetected, particularly among children who are hidden away due to shame or fear.
“Leprosy has become increasingly hidden,” said Mr Waddup. “Hidden children and hidden suffering. Hidden because governments don’t prioritise it and overstretched health systems cannot keep up.”
In response, the charity is launching a renewed campaign - #IAmNisha – on World Leprosy Day aimed at ending child leprosy, combining medical treatment with surgery, prosthetics, rehabilitation and job training for affected families.
It also plans to expand community education programmes to counter stigma and encourage early reporting of symptoms.
“Leprosy once received sustained global support,” Mr Waddup said. “When an effective cure was discovered in the late 20th century, the world moved forward with hope and determination. But momentum faded too soon.”
With conflict, climate change and poverty placing additional strain on fragile health systems, campaigners warn that international targets to eliminate neglected tropical diseases by 2030 are slipping further out of reach.
The Leprosy Mission is urging governments, churches and the wider public to re-engage with the issue, stressing that leprosy is both curable and preventable — and that children should not pay the price for global inaction.
Mr Waddup said: “At The Leprosy Mission, we believe every child is created by God, known by name and born to be loved. Where there is suffering, we have a shared responsibility to respond with compassion.
“As followers of Christ we know that compassion must cross borders, postcodes and passports. We are called not to look away, but to act.
He added, "In the name of Jesus, we can spare Generation Alpha from leprosy and every generation that follows.”
