With a population of almost 30 million people, leprosy infections have stabilised at a high level of more than 4’000 registered new cases per year. In the meantime, the civil war has come to an end but there is still widespread social and political unrest in the country. Nepal is one of the four poorest countries in Asia; the national infrastructure is weak and many people have virtually no access to medical services because these are either too far away or unaffordable. Alongside the manifold health threats due to tuberculosis, malnutrition and diarrheal diseases, leprosy remains a dangerous disease, especially so because many sufferers fail to recognise it early enough and treatment is not received until the disease is at an advanced stage. As a result, the number of unrecorded cases of the disease is high and permanent disabilities are common.
Further information on leprosy
We have been supporting the Green Pastures Hospital in Pokhara since 2006. The hospital is run by the International Nepal Fellowship (INF Nepal) and is one of the few reference centres for complicated leprosy cases in Nepal. We finance the treatment of leprosy and leprosy disabilities and thereby help to make it possible for people to be healed without lasting consequences or learn to lead an independent life despite their handicap.
The south of Nepal is poor. The people in the sub-tropical region of Tarai bordering on India live in extremely difficult conditions. They are regarded as second-class citizens. The medical infrastructure is rudimentary, most of the health centres have become run down during the civil war and the staff has disappeared. Maternal and child mortality rates are high, leprosy, tuberculosis, malaria and many other diseases pose a threat to human life. Since 2008, we have been supporting the Kapilvastu community health project in Tarai introduced by the INF Nepal (see box, left).
Affected groups look after themselves in order to improve their health and their living conditions. This is the goal of a community development project in Kapilvastu which we have been supporting since 2008. This region is in a worse condition than the rest of the country: there is no safe water supply, no proper housing, no health care, no clean food, no opportunities to earn a living.
A group of specially trained volunteers assists with the setting-up of community groups to analyse their own situations and formulate their needs. The volunteers support the groups in reaching joint decisions as to the most urgent measures and help them to obtain the necessary resources.
They concentrate on working with the particularly neglected segments of the population, such as the lowest castes and local ethic groups. And within these groups in turn, the focus is on working with the women, since these are particularly disadvantaged in the present situation.
At the same time, we are also endeavouring to improve the provision of healthcare. We renovate dilapidated heath centres, provide them with the necessary equipment and medicines and work with the doctors and nursing staff.
Our aim in three year’s time is to have independent groups in 40 communities that will look after the improvements and be able to continue functioning independently.
