In Sri Lanka, the heavy monsoon rains of recent weeks have caused severe flooding. The hardest-hit regions include two FAIRMED project regions. FAIRMED is supporting the Sri Lankan government with essential equipment to help those affected to get the medical care that they need.
"Leave no one behind". The path that goes from the motto proclaimed in New York to those left behind in the hinterlands of Cameroon leads over a bumpy road.
We’re doing some tidying! Yes, spring cleaning is the order of the day on the FAIRMED project page. Specifically, the project descriptions are set to become clearer and more precise.
The neglected tropical disease Buruli ulcer has recently cropped up a number of times in the Swiss media. As it turns out, this barely-known disease is closer to home than many realise.
Neglected tropical diseases are both a cause and consequence of poverty. They are also an indicator of social inequality, whereby the cost of treatment can represent a significant additional burden for those affected. Thereby, it is the existing health system that ultimately determines whether a treatment is affordable or not.
Ill health creates poverty, but for those who are already poor, ill health carries the risk of sinking further into financial hardship. Even ‘out-of-pocket’ payments contribute significantly to the prospect of financial ruin that is faced by those who are already poor.
Poverty is bad for health, not least for those surviving on little money, who often have to put their own health last. New studies of health spending in private households in India and Cameroon underline the financial burden faced by poor people in their efforts to treat neglected tropical diseases.
Originally, the plan was for FAIRMED to end its deployment in Nepal’s Sindhupalchok District at the end of 2017. FAIRMED spontaneously set up the project in early May 2015 in order to provide the people in the district hardest hit by the earthquake with urgent medical care.
In December 2017, the international coalition «Uniting to Combat NTDs», which also includes FAIRMED, published the fifth report on efforts towards the elimination of neglected tropical diseases – and the results appear promising.
Programme officer Amélie Dubé supervised the FAIRMED project «Santé Taabo» in Côte d'Ivoire for two years. In conversation with FAIRMED the native of Canada looks back over the successes, challenges and experiences she has faced over the course of the project.