<span style="color: #222222;">National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed serious concerns on the problems of Leprosy affected people and those affected by mental health issues. NHRC had organized a meeting of its Core Group on Health and Mental Health in New Delhi yesterday. In the session on leprosy, NHRC's Chairperson Justice Arun Mishra said that there are still many discriminatory laws. He said that these need to be amended or repealed and replaced with policies and frameworks that will protect human rights of people affected with Leprosy. He said that their social and economic empowerment needs to be prioritized to bring them into the mainstream.<br />''<br />''Some other suggestions that emerged included provision of sustained supply of medicines, basic amenities, and vocational training to people affected with Leprosy and focus on mental health and rehabilitation of people affected by Leprosy and their families. It was also highlighted that awareness about Leprosy needs to be built through a sustained campaign to end myth about the disease and discrimination against those who suffer from it and their family members, especially their children.<br />''<br />''In the session on COVID-19 and mental health, Some of the important suggestions included that States should submit Action taken Report on NHRC Advisories on Mental Health, increase budgetary allocation for mental health, and in particular for district mental health programme and increase dedicated staff for psychiatric care. It was also suggested that transparency in maintaining data and its methods in every district should be standardized to avoid disparity in reporting. It was also suggested to look into the concerns on Omicron preparedness and lack of clarity on the efficacy of booster dose for COVID-19 vaccine on priority to avoid mental stress related to it.<br />''<br />''NHRC's Secretary-General Bimbadhar Pradhan said that the discussions are an effort to understand the gap between policies and implementation.</span><br />