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Province of Nampula, Mozambique – Faurito António, 42, from Lalaua District, Nampula Province, has two hours to reach her nearest health center to receive medication to treat Leprosy. António, whose foot has been affected by muscle weakness that occurs when leprosy is not treated, says that this long walk during illness is the reason why many do not continue treatment, which can last between six and twelve months
. people who give up treatment for the alleged tiredness of traveling long distances to gain access to a hospital, "he told IPS of rural distribution of Mozambique's health centers.
In the rural and rural province of Nampula, six million people, according to the Mozambican Ministry of Health, are served by a health center in each of the 23 districts.
Lack of development – many villages in the region do not have electricity or even asphalt roads – also
This nation of southern Africa was in a civil war of 16 years which ended in 1992 and 181 out of 188 countries on the human development index of the United Nations Development Program, sharing its lace with South Sudan. World Bank data show that more than half, 63%, live below the poverty line of US $ 1.90 a day.
According to a source at the Ministry of Health, about 5,000 people are treated on average in health centers in Nampula.
Distances to health care centers
The province of Nampula was ranked in a study as one of the areas with the largest number of villages located 60 minutes from a health center . The main 500 – bed Nampula Provincial Hospital, located in the city of Nampula, serves a population of about 8.5 million residents of the three provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Nibada.
This province has the highest number of leprosy cases. In the first half of this year, the Ministry of Health recorded a total of 553 cases, mostly from the districts of Lalaua, Meconta, Mogovolas and Nampula, in Nampula province. This was followed by Zambezia and Cabo Delgado with 121 and 84 new cases respectively
Leprosy is a chronic disease. The first symptoms are paler skin patches than normal, making the disease difficult to diagnose. But if it is not treated, the World Health Organization (WHO) says it can cause progressive and permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes.
Last year, Francisco Mbofana, national director of health concern that the disease is still not diagnosed and untreated. The Mozambique Club has cited it as saying that patients often appear for the first time in health centers already suffering from second-degree malformations "where mutilations of the fingers and toes are obvious."
Disease transmitted by droplets and mouth, during close and frequent contact with untreated cases, is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT), and early treatment can prevent the most disabilities. Since 1995, WHO has provided PCT free of charge with initial funding from the Nippon Foundation. The Nippon Foundation, a Japanese non-profit philanthropic organization, is active in many countries around the world in the elimination of leprosy, including in Mozambique.
The MDT treatment on which António was offered by the Nippon Foundation is available for António has been under treatment for two weeks now, and says that it may signal improvement.
Promoting Early Identification of Disease Through Education
Unlike António, 23-year-old Ermelinda Muelete was fortunate to have been diagnosed early when white plaques appeared on his body. But Muelete, who was taking medication for this disease for a few weeks, stopped treatment because she felt that the spots on her skin were not disappearing quickly enough.
But she regrets the decision.
"I want to go back to treatment," she told IPS from the Namaita Center, a small clinic in Mozambique's Rapale district of Nampula province. Muelete says that although members of the small rural community here did not reject her outright, she felt that some of their attitudes and actions were discriminatory towards her.
But on Thursday, July 26, a small gathering was held in the region for Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambbadador for the Elimination of Leprosy, visited the Namaita center to evaluate how funding from the Nippon Foundation, of which he is president, has been able to help treat Mozambicans. with leprosy.
The foundation has been at the forefront of the fight against the disease. In 2013, with the WHO, the Nippon Foundation held a leprosy summit in which 17 countries reporting more than 1,000 new cases a year issued the Bangkok Declaration to reaffirm their commitment to achieving a leprosy-free world .
The Foundation provided funds and medicines to the Ministry of Health to implement post-elimination interventions at the community level in the endemic districts of central and northern parts of the country, particularly for the active search of patients for early diagnosis and treatment. The initiative of the Nippon Foundation, which began last year, will continue until 2020.
According to Sasakawa, the process of diagnosing this disease has been difficult because the symptoms may take a lot of time and are not particularly painful. This long incubation period, on average five years, but sometimes up to 20 years according to the WHO, means that people do not always seek immediate treatment.
However, he challenged communities to be vigilant and try to identify if their family members have skin discoloration, they can be referred to a hospital for to be screened and treated
"In fact, the appearance of white patches on the patient's body is one of the main causes of suspicion." Do not take long with the symptoms of leprosy, you have to see a doctor in the nearest health center for treatment, which is free. "
In addition to providing money and MDT, the Nippon Foundation also supports public awareness campaigns that educate local people about leprosy , how to identify and where to get treatment.
In rural areas, a poor understanding of the disease makes it difficult to identify one and get the necessary treatment. the data of the Bank m Only nine percent of the 28 million inhabitants of the country have access to the Internet
The school gathering has changed the situation for Muelete
"Now I do not feel rejected because of my situation .
The fight for the elimination of leprosy
Sasakawa says that the Nippon Foundation has struggled to eliminate the disease. More than 210,000 new cases of leprosy registered worldwide in 2016, according to official WHO figures in 145 countries
Mozambique was declared free from leprosy in 2008. However, a few years later, it has experienced an epidemic. The country's health minister, Nazira Abdula, says that in the first six months of this year, Mozambique has recorded about 951 new cases of leprosy, compared with 684 in 2017.
"Cases may increase , but the mini-campaigns are "1965-3737 Manuel Dias, a community leader from Namaíta, reiterated his request for support to the fight against leprosy
," she says in her Maputo office. Sasakawa to continue bringing the leprosy medicine here to Namaíta, because many people are suffering from this disease. "
Sasakawa reaffirmed his commitment to continue to support communities in order to eradicate the disease, especially in rural areas.
Nalisha Adams supplementary report to Johannesburg
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