In 2018, the number of countries (India, China) has increased from two last year to four:

In Ethiopia, India, China and Congo, we have been able to make a significant contribution thanks to the loyal commitment of our supporters!

India

80% of the world's leprosy patients live in India. The huge country still has a leprosy prevalence rate of over 2 per thousand. No amount of help is enough to alleviate the unimaginable underdevelopment, poverty and its consequences due to the caste system! For this reason, all leprosy organisations, but also all charitable sectors in general, have an 'automatic' presence in India.

In 2018, at the request of the Premananda Leprosy Mission Hospital in Calcutta
- 1 complete intensive care kit with all necessary accessories,
- 1 blood glucose meter,
- we have agreed to provide the medical equipment needed for the dermatology operating theatre.
These were investments the hospital had been waiting for for years!

The Premananda Hospital in Calcutta

Many burned children are also helped in the dermatology operating theatre.
Our help is very much needed!

Congo

The other new scene of our assistance was the vast country of Africa. The vast territory of the Congo (23 times the size of our country!) is home to a large number of scattered and hidden leprosy patients, many of them children. We are undertaking the complex and beautiful task of screening, treating and rehabilitating them in our project, together with other supporting countries (Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and France).
Our commitment for 2018 was:
- In five states in the Congo, to participate in the expansion of screening by providing financial support,
- participation in disability prevention activities by providing financial support,
- financing various surgical interventions.

Screening is very important to ensure early diagnosis and treatment!

China

China has an area 96 times larger than our country. And it has 130 times more inhabitants than Hungary!
We have been in China for almost 10 years with our assistance in Dicsing, on the Tibetan outskirts of Yunnan Province. We support the education of leprosy-affected children so that they can go to school and break the cycle of poverty-stigma through learning and knowledge.
By doing so, we are laying the foundations not only for their future, but also for the future of their children!

Ethiopia

For the first time, we have provided aid to Ethiopia through the Ethiopian Leprosy Federation.
This support was provided through a successful application to the Department for International Development of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Since even some health workers in the vast country do not recognise leprosy or know the treatment process, the Ethiopian Leprosy Society is providing 50 health workers with professional training on leprosy and all its aspects. The Hungarian support we are mediating provides the financial backing for this. We hope that with the knowledge and skills gained during the training, health workers will be able to find and help leprosy patients scattered over vast areas even more effectively and as soon as possible!

The leader of the Ethiopian Leprosy Mission: the Dutch Tanny Hagens among patients.