End the Neglect

A blog of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases

Archive for the ‘India’ category

New Policy Briefs Highlight Importance of NTDs for G20 and BRICS

February 21st, 2013

In March 2013, heads of state and senior ministerial officials from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will gather in Durban, South Africa for the fifth annual BRICS Summit. Later in the year, in September, G20 leaders will meet in St. Petersburg, Russia for the G20 Summit.

These upcoming meetings represent a huge opportunity for the NTD community. By pooling resources, expertise and influence, these influential international bodies have an opportunity to raise the profile of the NTD problem and galvanize concerted action at the global level on behalf of hundreds of millions of marginalized people who do not have a voice.

Efforts by the BRICS and G20 countries to improve food security, education and economic growth are all issues undermined by NTDs. Recognizing this, two new policy papers prepared by the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases ahead of the BRICS and G20 summits, a G20 call to action and a BRICS call to action, highlight the need to include NTDs in broader development and economic policies.

As a group, the BRICS countries have unique, fresh perspectives to share with NTD endemic countries and other development partners, drawing on the valuable technical expertise they have acquired while addressing their own public health challenges, including efforts to combat NTDs.

Similarly, while world leaders will focus on economic growth and job creation at the upcoming G20 Summit, this group has an opportunity to elevate issues like NTDs and malnutrition, which hinder economic growth in countries around the world.

International political advocacy is one way we can help promote change needed to end inequality and suffering caused by NTDs. Interested in the subject? End the Neglect readers are encouraged to read through and share these call to action papers.

Here they are again:

G20 call to action

BRICS call to action

To read more about the social and economic impact of NTDs, please click here:

The Hudson Report – November 2012

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Posted in Brazil, BRICS, g20, India

Lymphatic Filariasis: Taming the Attacks

January 11th, 2013

This case study was compiled by IMA World Health as part of the lymphatic filariasis morbidity management programme. We’ve included an excerpt here, but you can can access the full case study at this link. See Monday’s blog post for more about the program.

Mahara Bawa showing us the ointment she uses for her leg

One of the biggest difficulties a Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) patient faces is the occasional acute attacks that can literally cripple the person for a few days. CASA staff visited patients to discuss these acute attacks and the impact on their lives living with LF.

‘Whenever I do laborious work, and exert myself I am likely to fall sick,’ said one patient.

‘When I do some work,’ said Mahara Bawa of Sarapari village under Sarapari panchcyat (Tangi Block) ‘I feel if I did not have this disease, I could give my 100 percent.’ Mahara Bawa a lady in her fifties regrets not being able to give her full energy. Some 10 years back Mahara suddenly had a fever; there was pain in her legs followed by swelling. The neighbours suspected it was Lymphatic Filariasis, the doctor confirmed it.

‘No, I didn’t feel bad,’ she replied when we asked what her initial reaction was, ‘but yes, I was a little down, after all this could happen to anyone.’ Mahara’s father too had Lymphatic Filariasis.

Mahara’s both legs are swollen due to the infection, she however can manage to live with it, but she dreads the acute attacks.

‘During the acute attacks, there is tremendous shivering and high fever,’ she literally demonstrated it as she spoke, ‘for 3-4 days I cannot do anything.’ But even after her fever subsides the following 2 weeks she finds it extremely difficult to walk around. ‘It’s very painful,’ she explained.

But after CASA initiated work in this area, things began to look better. ‘I didn’t know that we have to take special care of our legs.’

‘How did CASA’s health workers ask you to take care of your foot?’ we asked her.

‘They showed me how to wash the legs with soap in cold water and then carefully dry it,’ she replied adding that she does this regularly.

‘And what about ointment?’ we questioned back.

‘Oh yes!’ she nodded her head saying, ‘I apply that too.’

Mahara said she used to have frequent acute attacks but for the last year or so she didn’t have a single acute attack ‘Yes I still have some pain in my legs and back sometimes,’ she admitted, ‘but after 2-3 days it goes away.’

This patient story was particularly encouraging to CASA because few patients report such remarkable success after starting home based care.

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Posted in Asia, elephantiasis, India, lymphatic filariasis, NTDs

Lymphatic Filariasis: Care Begins at Home

January 9th, 2013

This case study was compiled by IMA World Health as part of the lymphatic filariasis morbidity management programme. We’ve included an excerpt here, but you can can access the full case study at this link. See Monday’s blog post for more about the program.

Above) Debraj Behra and his wife. (Below) Debraj along with Asst. Project Coordinator Soumendra Dhir (facing) and Govind Panda

CASA staff and volunteers have been working to provide care and support to LF patients in Orissa state, these patients have often been left behind and hidden away by families and communities. CASA visit patients regularly to check their health and emotional status.

Pictured to the left is Debraj Behra, a man in his late fifties. Some 20 summers back, when he was at the peak of his youth, one day he fell sick.

‘I was around 30 years then,’ he said in a dry voice, ‘and was married already, when suddenly one day I had a pain in my left leg.’ He paused for some time, wiped his sweat from his forehead and continued, ‘my feet had become red and then there was fever.’

Debraj used to work as daily labour and he was the only source of income in a family with his wife and a son. ‘I thought it was normal pain, which must have happened accidentally due to work,’ he observed.

But it wasn’t, he came to know that was infected with a parasitic disease known a Lymphatic Filariasis. Lymphatic Filariasis locally known as ‘Baatjor’ initially didn’t cause any alarm to him. ‘I didn’t know how serious it was,’ he remarked. But when he realised, he understood it was an end to his working life.

‘I was very sad to learn that,’ he paused, ‘since I knew I couldn’t do hard work anymore.’ » Read more: Lymphatic Filariasis: Care Begins at Home

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Posted in Asia, elephantiasis, India, lymphatic filariasis

Hope for Lymphatic Filariasis patients in India

January 7th, 2013

This blog post by Ann Varghese, M.Sc., Senior Program Officer at IMA World Health, originally appeared on the American Indian Foundation blog and was reposted with their permission. Visit End the Neglect later this week to see case studies on lymphatic filariasis morbidity management, also from IMA World Health.

An estimated one billion people worldwide are affected by one or more neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These diseases disproportionally affect poor and rural populations who lack access to clean water, sanitation, and essential medicines. They can cause chronic suffering, disability, compromised mental and physical development, and social stigma.

Volunteers do a home visit to an LF patient with advanced lymphoedema.

Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) is a highly disabling disease that is endemic in 83 countries with over 1 billion people at risk. It poses a major health issue in India; almost 45% of people at risk for LF globally live in India [1]. The disease is a parasitic infection spread by mosquitoes. It is caused by thread-like parasitic worms that damage the human lymphatic system. The disease can cause severe disfigurement with swelling of the limbs and breasts (lymphoedema) and genitals (hydrocele). LF prevents individuals from experiencing a normal working and social life, furthering the cycle of poverty. The WHO global strategy for elimination of LF as a public health problem is based on two key components:

interrupting transmission through annual large-scale treatment programmes, known as mass drug administration (MDA), implemented to cover the entire at-risk population;
alleviating the suffering caused by lymphatic filariasis through morbidity management and disability prevention. » Read more: Hope for Lymphatic Filariasis patients in India