Leprosy Mission staff have extended their outreach work in a bid to get women to seek early diagnosis and treatment for the disease before they develop disabilities including blindness.

Mental illness can be a lifelong consequence of experiencing the stigma and discrimination of leprosy, for millions of people worldwide.

New research by The Leprosy Mission England and Wales highlights the reasons why women are less likely to be treated promptly for leprosy and are more likely to become disabled and cast out from society than men.