In 1991 the World Health Organisation set itself a goal to reduce the number of active cases in treatment by at least 1 to 10,000 in the hope that this would have an impact on the risk of transmission of leprosy. The date set was 2002 and in many countries it was reached.
Usually initiatives start from health personnel and associations working in the sectors and they aim to increase awareness with regard to the causes of the disease and its effects, including social affects.
The most important challenge in future is to ensure the cases of leprosy are diagnosed in time. In many cases there is talk of integrating anti-leprosy programmes in basic health care systems. On the one hand wars limit the covering of services and on the other restrictions imposed by international situations reduce resources for health and educational services. Moreover funds for health care are destined exclusively to hospitals in capitals and not to basic health care in rural areas. National health care policies based on paid services threaten to exclude the poor, including leprosy sufferers. The difficulties of disabled persons including three million people with disabilities caused by leprosy are ignored.
To guarantee services, diagnosis, care of leprosy patients valorising basic health care services will therefore be the most suitable system to respond to the health needs of the people in the south of the world.,
Leprosy in 2002.

Africa
In Africa in 2002 the number of cases diagnosed was 48.248 :

Besides these countries where the diagnosis rate is higher than 1 per 10,000, there are other countries Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Ghana where the diagnosis rate is less than 1 per 10,000, but the annual number cases is higher than 1,000.
In 2002, WHO received no information with regard to leprosy cases from Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We know that in some countries, Ethiopia for example, register numerous new cases of leprosy. This means the available figures are not complete.
In Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo, because of war information supplied is incomplete.

America
In 2002 the total number of diagnosed cases of leprosy was 39.939.
Only Brazil has a diagnosis rate higher than 1 per 10.000:

Like in Africa, in a number of American countries there are new cases of leprosy and ant-leprosy programmes do not function. WHO receives no information with regard to leprosy from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Uruguay e Venezuela.

Middle East
It should be said that for the World Health Organisation Somalia and Sudan are part of the Middle East
Total number of cases diagnosed in 2002 was 4.665.
Rates of diagnosis are below 1 per 10.000.

Pakistan, also considered a Middle East by WHO, registers more than 1,000 new cases of leprosy every year. In Iraq, Somalia Sudan war prevents the functioning of anti-leprosy programmes and information is partial.

South East Asia
This region has the highest number of cases

All the countries in this region register new cases. Countries with more than 1,000 new cases are Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand. India registers the highest number of cases in the world
.
The total number of cases diagnosed in 2002 in South East Asia was 520.632
A drop of about 100.000 new cases in India in 2002 affected the world figures. When India’s national anti-leprosy programme was extended to the north of the country figures show stable transmission of leprosy in the region after a big increase in new cases between 1997 and 2001
.
Far East and Pacific
Some Pacific Islands’ high diagnosis rate of new cases is because their population is scarce.
In 2002 countries with the most serious situation:  

Philippines, Vietnam and China register more than 1.000 new cases annually.
In the Far East and the Pacific in 2002 the total number of new cases diagnosed was 7.154.
This shows a gradual decrease. Some Pacific islands have experimented with rigorous anti-leprosy programmes in recent years including vaccination of all residents. Moreover in recent decades many islands have improved the standards of living. These factors have probably had an impact on the transmission of the disease.

Europe
WHO reports 34 cases

Global situation in 2003, in 110 countries not to be compared:

(Info: dott. Sunil Deepak direttore del dipartimento medico-scientifico dell’Aifo e Presidente dell’Ilep, la Federazione Internazionale delle Associazioni anti-Lebbra)

(Agencia Fides)