Leprosy continues to be very prevalent in Sri Lanka. Some 2,000 new patients are discovered among the 20 million population every year. In addition, several thousand disabled leprosy victims live on the island. There are still certain areas in the west, south and east where leprosy continues to represent a serious problem for the population. Almost 10% of patients delay too long in coming for treatment and already have permanent, incurable nerve damage.
We have been involved in the fight against leprosy in Sri Lanka since 1975. Since 2008, we have been supporting the national leprosy programme together with the Dutch leprosy organisation NLR.
Our goal is to bring down the incidence of leprosy and identify and treat sufferers earlier, thereby being able to prevent permanent disabilities. We are also of the opinion that leprosy could be eradicated in Sri Lanka in the long term if innovative procedures such as preventive treatment of the sufferer’s contact persons or a new vaccination could be introduced on a wide scale.
Further information on leprosy
In 2006, we began to combat the killer disease leptospirosis in the Matara region in the south. The disease is probably transmitted by bacteria in urine of rats that multiply in mud and water. The pathogens infect people when they make their way through contaminated paddy fields or marshy meadows. The death rate in Sri Lanka for people infected with leptospirosis is almost 10%, mainly because the symptoms are incorrectly identified and the treatment started too late. The illness makes the people frightened and in many villages, rice production suffers as a consequence because the farmers are afraid to work their fields.
The project to fight leptospirosis has been considerably expanded in 2010. The first few years of this project confirmed, that a combined, integrated approach, fighting against a number of neglected diseases (such as leptospirosis, leishmaniasis or spotted fever) is more successful and efficient than efforts focussing only one disease. This is why FAIRMED works not only with the local health department but also with the agriculture, environment and education departments of the district. Thus, we work closely with the population in early detection and treatment of the diseases as well as in fighting the causes of the epidemic (i.e. by improving the environmental and working conditions).
We support the health services in the fight against leptospirosis, leishmaniasis, spotted fever and leprosy. We educate people on the dangers, so that they can avoid risks and call on swift medical assistance if infection is suspected. We finance preventive medicines against leptospirosis throughout the potentially risky rice harvest, which effectively prevents the illness. As a result, we have been able to save many lives in recent years and given farmers the confidence to keep up their rice-growing in order to feed themselves and their families. In future, affected communities can also count on help to repel leishmaniasis and spotted fever; above all they are supported in improving life and working conditions in order to minimize risks of infection.
The tsunami on 26 December 2004 devastated the coasts of Sri Lanka. In order to mitigate the consequences in our projects, during the last five years we built houses, enabled orphans to attend school and gave small loans so that the people could put their lives back on a firm financial footing.
Unfortunately, for many people, the traumatic events are far from being forgotten. This became obvious in the painful commemoration ceremonies of 24 December 2009, which were held in all affected areas. The number of tsunami related psychological stress disorders has fortunately dropped in the past two years. However, there are still many psycho-social problems amongst the people in the coastal regions that can often be traced back to the stress and the loss of friends and relatives during the tsunami.
The people are depressed, suffer from anxiety states and consequential problems such as addiction, family violence, poverty and delinquency. The discussion of psychological problems is taboo in Sri Lanka and people with mental disturbances are stigmatised. There is a scarcity of facilities and financial resources with which to advise and treat people.
Since 2008, we have been training volunteers to become psychosocial advisers in some of the affected communities in the south. These volunteers are points of contact for the sufferers; they explain that psychological problems are normal and that there are ways to treat them. If necessary, they refer sufferers to the available psychiatric services. The volunteers work in collaboration with the health services and are accompanied by professionals. As a result, many sufferers, predominantly women and schoolchildren, at last have an opportunity to talk about their problems and get support without fear. This project will end in 2010 but the support of the people needing help will continue. The volunteers have organised themselves in the meantime and will keep up their work in collaboration with the district health services of Matara.