Category Archives: Brazil

Eliminating Leprosy in Brazil

Brazil, Latin America and the Caribbean, leprosy

 

A majority of the NTD disease burden in Latin America and the Caribbean occurs in Brazil. This week, the Brazilian Ministry of Health is launching a public health campaign to diagnose and treat soil-transmitted helminths (or intestinal parasites) and leprosy in school-aged children. Over the next few days, we will be featuring stories related to the fight against NTDs in Brazil.

Cartaz_Menino_46x64Leprosy is possibly one of the oldest diseases known to mankind. It is also one that causes great stigmatization and marginalization of those who are affected by it.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pockets of high leprosy rates remain in some areas of Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal and the United Republic of Tanzania. India has the greatest incidence of leprosy, with 133,717 new cases in 2009; followed by Brazil, with 37,610 new cases in 2009. In Latin America and the Caribbean, leprosy is no longer a public health problem, except for in Brazil. The Brazilian government is working tirelessly to combat leprosy and to empower those who are currently affected. Because of this, Brazil is close to eliminating leprosy as a public health problem, which is defined as less than 1 case per 10,000 people.

Also known as Hansen’s disease, leprosy is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae and it is transmitted via droplets, from the nose and mouth, through close and frequent contact with untreated cases. Still, it is important to note that it is not highly infectious. Leprosy can cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes, if left untreated. The main treatment for leprosy is multidrug therapy (MDT), which includes dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. Continue reading →

New Policy Briefs Highlight Importance of NTDs for G20 and BRICS

Brazil, BRICS, g20, India

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

Lymphatic filariasis,on the spotlight in Brazil

Brazil, Culex mosquito, geohelminthes, Guyana, Haiti, intestinal parasites, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, NTDs, PAHO, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, vector control, vector management

By: Agustin Caceres

In Recife, Brasil, the government is using the school system to screen and treat children for lymphatic filariasis

Brasilia, May 29th 2012 – The 11th Regional Meeting, organized by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), is taking place this week in Brasilia (Brazil). In this event, more than 30 representatives of governments, academia, and donor organizations in the fight against neglected infectious disease have gathered to discuss the situation of this NID in the Americas including the success stories, and also the remaining challenges.

In the opening session, hosted by Dr. Joaquin Molina, Representative of PAHO in Brazil, and Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr, Secretary of Health Surveillance of the Health Ministry of Brazil, highlighted that the disease continues to represent an important challenge for the health authorities of Latin America and the Caribbean. In the region, more than 12 million people are at risk of contracting this disease including Haiti, one of the countries most at risk.

“These meetings demonstrate Brazil’s support for the elimination of this disease in the country”, said Dr. Barbosa da Silva. “We are close to the elimination of LF, and that is why this is such an important step. This disease has to remain a top priority and this is why it is key that it is addressed with an integrated approach in collaboration with primary health care services. It is not just about eradication, but also about sustained surveillance.”

Lymphatic filariasis, which is included in the group of the Neglected Infectious Diseases, affects mainly indigenous populations, as well as rural and urban populations that live in pockets of extreme deprivation in several countries in LAC. This is the case of the metropolitan area of Recife, in northeastern Brazil, where the Inter-American Development Bank is supporting a project for the control and elimination of this disease as well as others like leprosy, still present in several areas in Brazil, and geohelminthiasis (intestinal parasites), which has a strong prevalence among children in school age in many municipalities throughout the country.

More than 30 representatives of several countries in the Region are attending this event, such as Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname –countries that have certified the eradication of this disease and therefore are no longer considered endemic- together with other countries that are still fighting this disease, including Haiti, Brazil and the Dominican Republic.

The meetings have covered a wide range of topics related to the fight against this disease: from Suriname’s National Plan of Action for the control of NIDs to the experience in Integrated Vector Management in Trinidad and Tobago and the metropolitan area of Recife in Brazil, where activities to monitor and eliminate breeding sites of the culex mosquito –vector for the transmission of LF- are a key component in the strategy to eradicate this disease.

The fight against LF is part of the joint efforts of the IDB, PAHO, and the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Sabin Vaccine Institute as part of the Neglected Infectious Diseases Initiative for Latin America and the Caribbean, an initiative that is supporting innovative projects based with an integrated approach in both the fight against multiple diseases as well as the integration with other sectors like water, sanitation, and housing.

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Agustin Caceres is a consultant in Communications and Outreach at the Social Protection and Health Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington DC.