Top 10 Indonesian Provinces with the Highest Leprosy Prevalence, Mostly in Eastern Indonesia

The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) reported 17,251 registered leprosy cases in Indonesia throughout 2023.

The national leprosy prevalence reached 0.62 cases per 10,000 people.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the bacterium *Mycobacterium leprae*. This disease affects skin tissue, peripheral nerves, and the respiratory tract. Symptoms include patches or redness on the skin, accompanied by numbness in the hands and feet.

Director of Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases at Kemenkes, Imran Pambudi, stated that the highest leprosy prevalence in 2023 was generally found in Eastern Indonesia.

West Papua had the highest leprosy prevalence, at 13.6 cases per 10,000 people. This figure is approximately 22 times higher than the national average.

Following West Papua are Papua and Southwest Papua, with prevalences of 10.77 and 8.2 cases per 10,000 people respectively.

The following are the 10 provinces with the highest national leprosy prevalence rates in 2023:

1. West Papua: 13.60 (cases per 10,000 people)
2. Papua: 10.77
3. Southwest Papua: 8.20
4. North Maluku: 6
5. Central Papua: 2.61
6. Maluku: 2.53
7. South Papua: 2.39
8. North Sulawesi: 1.85
9. Gorontalo: 1.34
10. West Sulawesi: 1.12

"These are areas where we need to continue active case finding so that hidden leprosy sufferers can be found as early as possible," said Imran in a press conference on Tuesday (March 5, 2024).

Kemenkes aims to reduce the leprosy prevalence rate to less than 1 case per 10,000 people.

Kemenkes also recorded 8.20% of new leprosy cases in 2023 affecting children.

Approximately 5.7% of leprosy sufferers had reached grade two or were already experiencing disability.