{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T18:28:26Z","timestamp":1787596106463,"version":"build-2736575974"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014604","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787529600000}}],"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786320000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2016\u20132020 aimed at early detection of new leprosy cases, reduction of grade-2 disabilities (G2D), and stopping any discrimination of people afflicted with leprosy while pointing out the importance of leprosy control programmes. In this retrospective study, data obtained from the Ghanaian National Leprosy Control Programme (NLCP) prior to the Covid-19 pandemic were analysed and compared with the key targets of the Global Leprosy Strategy 2016\u20132020.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methodology\/principal findings<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Demographic as well as clinical data from the registry of the Ghanaian NLCP from 2017 to 2019 were reviewed and described. Evaluated targets and indicators for WHO programme monitoring included new case detection rates, proportion of new cases with G2D, biological sex, paediatric cases, proportions of multibacillary (MB) and paucibacillary (PB) cases and treatment completion rates. Data were further categorized according to region and year. A total of 816 new leprosy cases were evaluated in this analysis. Of these, 358 (43.9%) were female cases and 33 (4. 0%) were paediatric cases. While the annual new case detection rate per 100,000 population in Ghana was 0.86 in 2017, 0.93 in 2018, and 0.90 in 2019, individual regions, particularly the Upper West Region, remained consistently above the threshold of 1 new case per 100,000 (4.32, 4.71, 6.12). Of all new cases, 7.6% (n\u2009=\u200962) presented with G2D, the rate remained &lt;1 per million population in each of the three years. One paediatric G2D case was reported in 2019. Annual treatment completion rates of MB and PB cases were well over 90% in 2017 and 2018.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions\/significance<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The NLCP made partial progress towards the WHO targets. While the analysis demonstrates that Ghana was on track regarding the elimination of leprosy, the presence of one paediatric case with G2D at diagnosis highlights the need for continued targeted interventions and enhanced surveillance to achieve elimination goals.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014604","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T17:42:00Z","timestamp":1786383720000},"page":"e0014604","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Surveillance data and progress assessment of the targets of the WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2016\u20132020: A retrospective registry-based analysis in Ghana"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Anna Katharina","family":"Njillo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephen Adom","family":"Boateng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Till","family":"Omansen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ruth","family":"Ansah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Johannes","family":"Mischlinger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Ramharter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benedict Okoe","family":"Quao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7375-3685","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Mirjam","family":"Groger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref001","unstructured":"WHO. Leprosy. https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/leprosy. 2023. Accessed 2023."},{"issue":"1","key":"pntd.0014604.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00079-13","article-title":"Leprosy in the 21st century","volume":"28","author":"C White","year":"2015","journal-title":"Clin Microbiol Rev"},{"issue":"10","key":"pntd.0014604.ref003","article-title":"Patients with skin smear positive leprosy in Bangladesh are the main risk factor for leprosy development: 21-year follow-up in the household contact study (COCOA)","volume":"14","author":"EEV Quilter","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis"},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref004","unstructured":"Nardell EA. Harvard Medical School. Leprosy (Hansen Disease; Hansen\u2019s Disease): MSD Manual. https:\/\/www.msdmanuals.com\/professional\/infectious-diseases\/mycobacteria\/leprosy. 2022."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref005","unstructured":"WHO. Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Leprosy. 2018. https:\/\/iris.who.int\/bitstream\/handle\/10665\/274127\/9789290226383-eng.pdf"},{"issue":"3","key":"pntd.0014604.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.4103\/ijmy.ijmy_70_17","article-title":"Challenges beyond elimination in leprosy","volume":"6","author":"F Naaz","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int J Mycobacteriol"},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref007","unstructured":"Statista. Number of new cases of leprosy in the most impacted countries worldwide in 2022, by country. https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/871627\/leprosy-new-cases-number-worldwide-by-country\/. Accessed 2023 October 1."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref008","unstructured":"WHO. Leprosy. Number of new leprosy cases: 2018. https:\/\/apps.who.int\/neglected_diseases\/ntddata\/leprosy\/leprosy.html. 2022. Accessed 2023 November 6."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref009","volume-title":"Leprosy - Number of new leprosy cases 2019","author":"WHO","year":"2021"},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref010","unstructured":"WHO. Lepcrosy. 2025."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref011","unstructured":"WHO. Global Leprosy Strategy 2016\u20132020 Accelerating Towards a Leprosy-Free World Operational Manual. 2016."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref012","unstructured":"WHO. Global Leprosy Strategy 2016\u20132020 Accelerating Towards a Leprosy-Free World Monitoring and Evaluation Guide. 2017."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref013","unstructured":"Group TWB. Population, total - Ghana. https:\/\/data.worldbank.org\/indicator\/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=GH. 2023."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref014","unstructured":"Dr Benedict Okoe Quao PM. Anual Report 2019. Ghana: Ghana Health Service National Leprosy Control Program (NLCP). 2019."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref015","unstructured":"Brinkhoff T. Ghana: Administrative division. Regions and districts 2021. https:\/\/www.citypopulation.de\/en\/ghana\/admin\/. Accessed 2023 October 1."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref016","unstructured":"Management CfHI. https:\/\/dhims.chimgh.org\/dhims\/dhis-web-reports\/index.html#\/data-set-report. 2022."},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref017","volume-title":"Global leprosy (Hansen disease) update, 2019: time to step-up prevention initiatives","author":"WHO","year":"2020"},{"issue":"1","key":"pntd.0014604.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"588","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-024-09492-w","article-title":"Any resurgence of leprosy cases in the Togo\u2019s post-elimination period? Trend analysis of reported leprosy cases from 2010 to 2022","volume":"24","author":"AW Bakoubayi","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Infect Dis"},{"issue":"8","key":"pntd.0014604.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"467","DOI":"10.1080\/20477724.2022.2057722","article-title":"Global epidemiology of leprosy from 2010 to 2020: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the proportion of sex, type, grade 2 deformity and age","volume":"116","author":"J Yang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Pathog Glob Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"pntd.0014604.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1254","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-020-09341-w","article-title":"Trends of the leprosy control indicators in Benin from 2006 to 2018","volume":"20","author":"RS Gnimavo","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"178","DOI":"10.47276\/lr.89.3.178","article-title":"Routine surveillance data as a resource for planning integration of NTD case management","volume":"89","author":"H Simpson","year":"2018","journal-title":"Leprosy review"},{"key":"pntd.0014604.ref022","volume-title":"Towards zero leprosy. 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