Of the 17 countries reporting a leprosy incidence of more than 1000 infections per year, eight are in South-East Asia and in the Western Pacific (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Sri Lanka). A total of 171’000 new leprosy cases were reported there in 2008. This represents almost 70% of all leprosy cases worldwide. In 2008, Indonesia made a significant contribution with around 18’000 new cases and is consequently the country the highest incidence of leprosy in the region after India.
The focus of our commitment in Indonesia is the rehabilitation of people with disabilities caused by leprosy on account of the fact that it is difficult for them to find a livelihood and to integrate into society. As a consequence they are frequently threatened with poverty. Children from families with leprosy sufferers often have a hard time in school and great difficulty in finding an apprenticeship. Our support therefore concentrates on the rehabilitation and social integration of sufferers and their relatives.
Further information on leprosy can be found here:
Further information on ILEP can be found here:
Two nurses from the Emmental valley run the project in Sele Be Solu on the Irian Jaya peninsula. We enable Sorong to produce special shoes and prostheses for former leprosy suffers and other disabled persons.