Leprosy had been almost eliminated in Nigeria, but the disease has made a resurgence. Promise Eze reports on how patients continue to be abandoned by the government and stigmatized by society.
Light red patches began to appear on Usman Salisu’s skin 10 years ago. He assumed it was an allergic reaction and went to a local pharmacy for help, but as the months passed the condition worsened as painful lesions and early signs of nerve damage began to show.
Soon his friends and community members in Sokoto state, northwest Nigeria, began to whisper that he must be cursed by God, as he had visited an Islamic healing centre and was still not healed.
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