Peter Waddup, CEO - The Leprosy Mission Great Britain

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Imagine being told you have a feared disease that can lead to terrible disabilities. The disease you fear - leprosy - could cost you everything. Your family, home, community and job. It is so tempting to ignore the discoloured skin patches appearing on your body. To bury your head in the sand and simply hope for the best.

But you are brave! You did exactly the right thing in seeking medical help.

Your mind goes into panic and body into shock when the doctor tells you the words you feared the very most. "It's leprosy." But then comes the amazing news. There is an effective cure! In fact there has been a complete cure for 43 years! If you take the antibiotic cure, for six months to a year, you can put the disease behind you. No one need ever know!

This is enough of a rollercoaster ride for anyone to manage in one day. But then try to imagine, if you can, the devastating blow the people of Nigeria have been dealt for the past 13 months. They have heard the words "there is an effective cure, Multidrug therapy". But then. "Due to supply chain issues, there is no Multidrug therapy in the country. We don't know when the next shipment will arrive."

This has happened to more than 3,000 people, including 800 children. Some already have disabilities that have been left to worsen. Others have been left at high risk of developing lifelong disabilities. Either way, the cruel disease has been left to progress. Others will have caught it as a result. After the huge strides that have been made in helping to rid Nigeria of leprosy, it's almost too painful to bear.

This week has brought some very happy news! A new shipment of Multidrug therapy has finally arrived in Nigeria!

The absence of leprosy drugs in Nigeria was quick to reach campaigners around the globe. This included thousands of people affected by leprosy themselves. After sustained campaigning, the World Health Organization resolved the supply chain crisis. It asked Nigeria to waiver its new drug importation requirements for WHO-approved medication. The new regulations for medicines had been blamed for the supply chain breakdown.

Next comes the challenge of uniting the drugs with the people who desperately need them. It is heart-warming that there are so many offers to help my colleagues in Nigeria with the colossal task. These include members of by IDEA-Nigeria, the National Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy. These people know just how essential the cure for leprosy is. Tragically many have learnt the hard way by receiving it too late. They have made it their mission to ensure others don't suffer a similar fate.

People living in the communities we serve in Nigeria have many needs. Yet I am certain receiving the cure for leprosy must be at the very top of their wishlist. Through medical science they can receive the gift of renewed health. The gift of freedom from a disease that has robbed people for millennia of everything that is dear to them.

It costs just £24 to diagnose a person with leprosy and bring them the cure. Could you give this gift today? Please visit leprosymission.org.uk