The Netherlands Leprosy Relief Association (NLR) will grant US$187,000 in non-refundable aid for the Vietnamese Ministry of Health to eradicate leprosy in the country.

Last July, the Ministry announced that Vietnam has fulfilled its goal of meeting the World Health Organisation's standards in reducing the number of lepers through a 10-year anti-leprosy campaign, which started in 1995.

Vietnam’s leprosy incidence has dramatically declined from 0.7 per 10,000 in 1995 to 0.1 per 10,000 in 2004. The country is striving to completely eliminate the disease.