The World Health Organization, WHO,  announced it will dispatch leprosy medications to Nigeria this weekend, following a year-long delay in distribution.

The delay, caused by regulatory hold-ups and testing requirements, has left thousands of patients, including children, without the critical treatment needed to prevent disability.

Each year, Nigeria reports over 1,000 new cases of leprosy, a bacterial infection caused by *Mycobacterium leprae* that primarily affects the skin, peripheral nerves, and eyes.

While the disease is treatable with multi-drug therapy, MDT, failure to receive treatment can lead to severe disfigurement, blindness, and paralysis. Moreover, leprosy patients often face significant stigma in their communities.

The delay began in early 2024 when Nigeria ran out of stock of MDT.

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Bureaucratic obstacles, along with newly implemented domestic testing regulations for imported medicines, led to the drugs being held up in India, where one of the medicine’s components is produced.

This disruption highlights vulnerabilities in the global health supply chain, which has also experienced shortages in countries such as India, Brazil, and Indonesia in recent years.

In response, the WHO requested a one-time waiver for Nigeria from the new testing policy, which was granted in January.

A WHO spokesperson confirmed that leprosy drugs will be shipped from India on March 8, with an expected arrival in Nigeria on March 9.

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