Tanzania’s Ministry of Health has intensified national efforts to eliminate leprosy (Hansen’s disease) by 2030, with increased surveillance, community screening and follow-up as core components of the strategy, Health Minister Mohamed Mchengerwa said during World Leprosy Day commemorations on January 25, 2026. Regional and local health officials have been directed to ensure that households in areas with detected cases are monitored, household members are screened and those diagnosed receive timely treatment.
Tanzania first achieved the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark for eliminating leprosy as a public health problem in 2006, defined as a registered prevalence rate of less than one case per 10,000 population. Despite this milestone, new cases persist in several districts, with 12 councils accounting for 71 percent of the 1,439 new cases recorded in 2025. The government’s renewed efforts focus on early detection, treatment access and community engagement to break transmission chains and reduce incidence further.
Over the past decade, Tanzania has seen a 37 percent decline in newly recorded cases, falling from 2,297 in 2015 to 1,439 in 2025, though some regions still struggle to meet elimination targets. Authorities are also combating stigma and harmful beliefs that hinder early healthcare seeking and discourage affected individuals from coming forward for diagnosis and treatment.
The Ministry’s strategy, aligned with the WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2021–2030, which aims for zero transmission, zero disability, and zero stigma, includes integrating leprosy services into the broader health system, free provision of multidrug therapy (MDT), enhanced public education and strengthened household contact screening. WHO and its partners continue to support global efforts through sustained commitments to treatment access and community awareness campaigns.
