eprosy has been a major public health problem in Myanmar for many years. By the 1950s, Myanmar ranked as a country with one of the highest prevalence rates of the disease. The Government of Union of Myanmar had been fighting against the disease with the expertise and advice of the World Health Organization (WHO) and INGOs. WHO has closely supported the leprosy programme in Myanmar from the 1960s through several projects, as well as research to develop better preventive and curative methods against leprosy. WHO MDT was introduced in Myanmar in 1986. The leprosy prevalence at that time was 59.3 per 10,000 population with 222,209 registered leprosy cases in the country. Nationwide MDT Programme started in hyperendemic areas in 1988. The prevalence rate was 39.9 per 10,000 with 155,857 registered cases.