Tag Archives: asia

Success in Vietnam: More than 700,000 School Children Treated!

Asia, END7, MDA, ,

 

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Over the span of two months, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health, together with World Vision Australia, treated more than 700,000 school children for intestinal worms. Generous donations from END7 supporters helped support this massive effort to reach every primary school in the nine target provinces across the country.

Vietnam’s mass drug administration (MDA) was critical to improving the country’s health. Intestinal worms pose a significant threat to children in Vietnam; more than 8 million children are at risk. If infected, these children are more likely to suffer from malnutrition and anemia. Intestinal worm infections also lead to school absenteeism and decreased cognitive function. In order to reach their full potential, all at-risk children must be treated regularly.

To help address Vietnam’s burden of intestinal worms, END7 donations supported the delivery of abendazole tablets, and the training of teachers and healthcare workers. Now, END7 funds will be supporting the country’s efforts to monitor and evaluate the success of the MDA campaign.

Thanks to our END7 supporters for playing a meaningful role in the fight against neglected tropical diseases!

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One Week, One Hope: A Myanmar Free of NTDs

Asia, END7, NTDs, ,

 

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have a crippling affect on the people of Myanmar, one of the poorest countries in Asia. A staggering 80% of the population is at risk for one or more of these parasitic and bacterial infections which can cause severe pain and disfigurement. Despite this, Myanmar is making progress in the fight against NTDs due in large part to an unprecedented and ambitious campaign that took place over just one week in September, 2013.

Our new video shows how thousands of health workers and volunteers came together to help end the burden of NTDs in Myanmar. Watch it here:

With the support of END7 and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Myanmar Ministry of Health protected more than 36 million people from lymphatic filariasis (LF) and intestinal worms.

The one-week campaign required careful coordination beginning with the national government and ending with local communities. First, the donated medicines arrived in country and were transported to more than 200 townships across Myanmar. For this program, more than 4,000 health workers and 90,000 volunteers were trained on how to distribute these medicines used to protect people from NTDs. Trainings took place in hospitals, and even in monasteries.

Once trained, the health workers carried out the large scale mass drug administration (MDA) by traveling door to door and visiting schools and community centers. They spent time talking to people about the importance of these medicines and the impact of NTDs. Teachers, community organizations, NGOs and other partners all played a big part in making sure that these medicines are distributed and helped protect families in Myanmar.

The result of this massive effort is millions of children like 7-year old Pwint Yamone Thin will be able to learn, play and be the healthy children they’re meant to be. It means that millions of mothers and fathers will not worry about losing their livelihoods due to debilitating illness or swelling of their limbs.

And the future looks promising. Plans for a 2014 MDA are already underway and Myanmar’s government plans to continue treatment until NTD transmission has stopped in all districts. Encouragingly, six districts in Myanmar have already completed the necessary number of MDAs to stop transmission of LF. If NTD treatment continues to be prioritized in Myanmar, the country can achieve its goal of eliminating NTDs by 2020. Lack of available resources to implement the program and the need for greater public awareness on NTD treatment and control are the primary challenges now.

Will you help raise awareness by our video today? Together we can create a brighter future for millions of children in Myanmar.

Highlighting the Women of Orissa on International Women’s Day

Asia, END7, India, lymphatic filariasis, NTDs, , , , , ,

 

Anupama standing with the women she met at the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA)

Anupama standing with the women she met at the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA)

In honor of International Women’s Day, I’m sharing the stories of a group of women living in Orissa State, India. Last month, I had the opportunity to travel to a community center in Banamalipur run by the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), an NGO that works on a range of development and health issues, including morbidity management and disability prevention from lymphatic filariasis (LF). LF is a painful and disfiguring neglected tropical disease (NTD) that impacts more than 20 million people across India.

At the community center, I was introduced to a group of women suffering from the impacts of long-term LF infection. Many of them were grandmothers and mothers, and while we needed a translator to speak to each other, we were full of smiles and eager to learn about one another.

The women I met spoke openly and honestly with me about the challenges they face as women living with LF. Some of the women described how their disease impacted not only themselves, but their daughters as well.

Women in Orissa State, India

Sulochana Behara, 43, from Dhalapathar village, for example, has five healthy daughters for whom she’s having trouble finding grooms; many people incorrectly believe that the swelling of her leg caused by LF is hereditary and that her daughters will also develop this same disability.

The visible signs of LF, which include swelling and inflammation of the extremities, often do not present themselves until adult age. In fact, the average age of the individuals with LF that CASA works with is about 57. Yet one woman I met explained she began noticing symptoms when she was only 12 years old. Now 40, she explained with tears in her eyes that she never married because of the stigma she faced.

In addition to the social stigma, LF also makes it hard for women to work and live comfortably. Many women explained that even working at home was difficult and that they couldn’t sit in certain positions for long periods of time because of the pain they suffered.

For these women, CASA is a welcomed respite from the stigma and challenges they often face as women living with LF. Staff and volunteers who work at CASA help the women wash and care for their swollen legs. The health workers carefully cleanse the women’s skin to remove bacteria. This process can reduce or reverse skin or tissue damage. This type of care does not cure, but can manage, the symptoms and progression of LF.

Unfortunately, the experiences of the women I met are not unique. Millions of women in India are living with or are at risk of contracting LF. As a whole, India bears 45 percent of the world’s population living at risk for LF.

WOMENSDAY (1)I am hopeful that with the support of our celebrity Ambassador, Abhishek Bachchan who accompanied me on the trip, we can help give voice to the stories and experiences of these women and end the stigma that they face. I am also hopeful that India’s efforts to eliminate LF will help protect millions of women from having to deal with the pain, disability and stigma of LF.

This International Women’s day, let’s share these women’s stories and raise the awareness needed to ensure that no woman lives a life of pain and stigmatization due to this preventable disease.

photos by Vivek Singh

Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh Well-Positioned to Lead NTD Efforts in South East Asia

Asia, NTDs,

 

Photo by Join the Lights

Photo by Join the Lights

 

By:  Anupama Tantri and Deepanjali Jain

The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (GN) would like to congratulate Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh on her appointment as the new World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for South-East Asia.

Dr. Khetrapal Singh will oversee a regional office whose eleven member states account for 26 percent of the global population and 50 percent of the world’s people living below the poverty line. Like elsewhere in the world, poverty and the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are inexorably linked in the South East Asia Region — the region is home to 54 percent of the world’s population that requires preventative treatment for NTDs.

The WHO South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) plays a leading role in advancing NTD control and elimination efforts across this region.  In 2012, in partnership with member countries, SEARO released the Regional Strategic Plan for Integrated Neglected Tropical Disease Control (2012-2016), which set regional targets for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) , schistosomiasis, trachoma and kala-azar by 2016.  SEARO has provided critical direction and technical assistance to the nine LF-endemic member states, resulting in an increase in coverage of preventive treatment for LF from 19.4 million in 2001 to 314 million in 2011. SEARO has also recently released the guidelines for Morbidity management and disability prevention in lymphatic filariasis to help address the needs of the 120 million people already infected with LF in the region. SEARO also developed the Regional Strategic Framework for Elimination of Kala Azar, a goal it aims to achieve by 2015.

In addition to region level advocacy and planning, SEARO’s leadership is helping its member states achieve key milestones in the path towards the control and elimination of NTDs.  In 2013, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand initiated the process to verify LF elimination, the result of remarkable commitment and years of concerted action. Bangladesh has rapidly scaled up its national integrated NTD program and is on track to achieve its LF elimination goal; the country is already reaching over 90 percent deworming coverage among school-aged children. Myanmar, which also has over 90 percent deworming coverage among both preschool and school-age children, is now focused on scaling up its LF elimination program. East Timor, the region’s newest member, developed a national integrated plan for the control of NTDs in 2013, and is preparing to launch its national program this year.  India, which accounts for 35 percent of the global burden for NTDs, currently manages the largest LF elimination program in the world, reaching more than 300 million people annually. Indonesia is also making great strides in strengthening its LF elimination program and is committed to eliminating schistosomiasis.

However, these success stories will not be repeated throughout South East Asia unless more resources are dedicated to the scaling-up of existing integrated NTD control programs. For example, India and Indonesia are only reaching a fraction of the 240 million and 60 million children, respectively, in need of deworming.  Trachoma elimination efforts are still weak and more resources are needed to better understand the current burden and impact of existing programs.

With a distinguished career and more than 30 years of experience in the health sector, Dr. Khetrapal Singh will be an invaluable asset to the region and is well positioned to lead the region towards meeting NTD control and elimination goals.  Prior to her first appointment with the WHO, Dr. Khetrapal Singh was a member of the Indian Administrative Service and served as the Secretary of Health, Family and Medical Welfare with the Government of Punjab.  In her last post as Deputy Regional Director of SEARO, Dr. Khetrapal Singh was responsible for resource mobilization in the region, and for the creation of partnerships with public, private and non-profit organizations.  Her skills and knowledge of the region have already greatly contributed to NTD control and elimination successes in South East Asia.

We are confident that under Dr. Khetrapal Singh’s leadership SEARO will continue the push to end the burden of NTDs and the South East Asia region will emerge as a global leader for the implementation of sustainable and effective NTD control and elimination programs.