Active in Cambodia in the fight against leprosy for more than 25 years, the Ciomal Foundation focuses its work on the early detection of new cases, so that patients can be treated as soon as the first signs appear and thus prevent them from bearing indelible after-effects.
TRACKING NEW LEPROSY CASES TO CONTAIN THE DISEASE
Active in Cambodia in the fight against leprosy for more than 25 years, the Ciomal Foundation focuses its work on the early detection of new cases, so that patients can be treated as soon as the first signs appear and thus prevent them from bearing indelible after-effects.
“The most terrible thing about leprosy is that you don’t die from it. This confession made by an Indonesian man, himself deformed by the disease, sums up the tragedy of those affected by this scourge: if they are not treated in time, the deformation of their body and limbs exposes them to rejection and stigmatization for life.
In Cambodia, CIOMAL is actively searching for new cases of leprosy. In order to do so, his team visits former patients in conjunction with the National Leprosy Elimination Program (NLEP) in order to detect new cases of leprosy in their surroundings (neighbors and families) and to treat them as quickly as possible to avoid spreading the bacillus to healthy people.
Until 2011, CIOMAL had a passive detection policy (information campaigns, training of health care personnel, reception and care of patients at the center) and tried to integrate its programs into the national health service. But the Ministry of Health does not have a sufficient budget to fight this disease. And health personnel at the national level lack training.
Therefore, a first round of early detection took place between 2011and 2015 and discovered over 500 new cases. The data collected made it possible to define the scope of action for a second cycle and to expand the statistics on the leprosy situation in the country.
The 2nd cycle began in late 2017 and is currently ongoing. In 2018, five campaigns were conducted in Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang, Kampot and Kampong Cham provinces. In 8 weeks, 57 new cases of leprosy were detected, including 6 children under the age of 15. CIOMAL and NLEP teams visited 268 former leprosy patients and examined 470 family members and 3,743 neighbors.
En 2019, les équipes se sont rendues dans le Rattanakiri au Nord Est du Cambodge pour y effectuer un projet pilote. In this neglected province, populated by ethnic minorities who do not speak Cambodian, the fear of exclusion is such that the villagers would flee when they understood that they were affected. Indeed, according to local beliefs, anyone suffering from a serious illness must be banished from the village to prevent other members of the community from suffering the same fate.
A huge amount of awareness and information work is needed in these remote areas to tame the villagers and convince them to seek treatment. The teams had to use translators to pass on information to the local population. CIOMAL is working on this long-term project.
I ACT TODAY
Every child deserves a quality education, regardless of their family situation. Unfortunately, families affected by leprosy often face financial difficulties and are often unable to finance their children’s education. This is why the CIOMAL Foundation strives to finance the educational needs of children whose families are affected by the disease. With your help, we can give the new generation hope for a better future through education.