Indonesia achieved the elimination of leprosy as a public health problem (defined by the WHO as a prevalence rate of less than 1 case per 10,000 people) in 2000. But for the last decade it has continued to report an average of over 17,000 new cases a year, ranking it third in the world behind India and Brazil. Leprosy remains a deeply stigmatizing disease, and there are many so-called leprosy colonies where people affected by leprosy and their families live.