In 1940, a number of 54 leprosy institutions could be found in the entire archipelago. Two of these institutions were run by the government (369 beds), 28 were managed by native states (1,050 beds) and 24 by private organizations (3,032 beds).

Nowadays, only a few institutions are kept alive, although Indonesia sees the third highest number of new leprosy cases each year, after India and Brazil. There are more than 15,000 new cases a year- little changed from ten years ago – and leprosy continues to be one of the major causes of preventable disability.