Fr Campbell calls for public education to end leprosy stigma

The Patron of the Weija Leprosarium, Rev. Fr Andrew Campbell, has called for increased public education to address the persistent discrimination and stigmatisation of persons cured of leprosy in the country.

He said although many people affected by the disease had been medically certified as cured, they continued to face rejection, neglect and inhumane treatment from their own families and the public.

“They’re not contagious. They’ve been cured. But society continues to treat them as outcasts,” he said.

He made the appeal during an interaction with the Daily Graphic at the Weija Leprosarium in Accra.

Fr Campbell revealed that some medical professionals had discriminated against leprosy patients.

“I sent one patient to the hospital, and the doctor told the nurse, ‘I will never take care of a leper.’

That night, the patient died,” he said.

He said that although leprosy-related treatment was free, patients were made to pay for other conditions, such as scans and lab tests, which they could not afford.

“They walk away from the hospital without any help because they haven’t got the money,” he said.

He recounted several instances where families showed up in large numbers only after their relatives had died.

“A man died at 2 a.m. By 7 a.m., the family was here. I asked them; Why didn’t you come earlier? They said I had insulted them.”

He also said former patients, and even their children, had been ridiculed and excluded in schools and communities.

“They make fun of them. ‘Your father is a leper, your mother is a leper,’ and they make fun of them. It has to stop,” he said.

He cited the case of a young girl, whose leg had been amputated and treated in Rome.

Despite being cured, she was later thrown out of a school after it was discovered she had previously suffered from leprosy.

Call to action

Despite the hardship, Fr Campbell shared moments of joy, including a trip to the beach, and called on the public to treat persons cured of leprosy with affection and love.

“One lady with an artificial leg took it off and let the water wash over her.

One of the happiest days of my life was to see their joy,” he said.

“We want them to be happy.

We want them to feel loved.

They are God’s children.

Let’s treat them with dignity,” Fr Campbell added.

He expressed gratitude to President John Dramani Mahama for increasing the LEAP allowance to GH¢10 per day for patients.

He further appealed for continued support from the government, corporate bodies and the general public.