【Photo Diary】 (3) Visit to Nepal

Published on December 11, 2024

 

I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my visit to Nepal from September 17 to 23, 2024, in my capacity as chairman of The Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.
 
[September 21, Janakpur, Nepal]
 
Photo of Yohei Sasakawa and the medical director, Dr. Krishna Bdr. Tamang
At Lalgadh Leprosy Hospital and Services Centre, one of the world’s busiest leprosy hospitals with 400 or more outpatient visits each day and nearly 100 beds for inpatients.
The medical director, Dr. Krishna Bdr. Tamang, shows me how the hospital keeps records. A well-organized data management system is essential for following up with patients and reporting accurate information.
The hospital is located near the border with India, and Indian citizens account for 34% of the hospital’s patients. I was impressed by how the hospital treats all patients equally and free of charge, regardless of their nationality.
Photo of Yohei Sasakawa.
They always have stocks of MDT (multidrug therapy), first recommended by WHO in the 1980s and now the standard treatment for leprosy. Some 16 million patients around the world have been treated and cured with MDT over the past 40 years.
Photo of Yohei Sasakawa.
The hospital’s nearly 100 beds are almost fully occupied by inpatients.
Joining the residents in self-care training.
Joining the residents in self-care training.
Photo of Yohei Sasakawa.
Presenting a donation from the Sasakawa Health Foundation to Lalgadh Leprosy Hospital and Services Centre for their anti-leprosy efforts.
Yohei Sasakawa with a woman being trained in sewing.
With a woman being trained in sewing.
Visiting Self-Help Groups (SHGs), which the hospital established in 2002 to ramp up its community outreach.
Visiting Self-Help Groups (SHGs), which the hospital established in 2002 to ramp up its community outreach. There are now 116 of these groups, which are led by persons affected by leprosy and also welcome other persons with disabilities and those affected by lymphatic filariasis.
The self-help groups established and supported by the hospital are more than just mutual aid organizations; they are actively involved in patient identification, disability care, peer counseling, livelihood improvement and awareness-raising. Wherever they are present, stigma and discrimination are significantly lower than in other areas. The Madhesh Province self-help groups are a model for what is possible, and I want to support the emergence of more groups like this.
Mr. Yadav, the leader of the Yagyabhumi Self-Help Group, takes my blood pressure to show how he monitors the villagers’ health.
Mr. Yadav, the leader of the Yagyabhumi Self-Help Group, takes my blood pressure to show how he monitors the villagers’ health.
Talking with members of SHGs about their lives.
Talking with members of SHGs about their lives.

 

[September 22, Janakpur and Kathmandu, Nepal]

Speaking to some 100 people at a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” campaign event.
Speaking to some 100 people at a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” campaign event.
Photo of Yohei Sasakawa.
Noting that SHG leaders are “skilled at identifying skin patches that should be tested, and they immediately either refer affected individuals to the nearest health center or accompany them to Lalgadh, I said: “I would like the model of Madhesh Province to spread to other parts of the world.”
Meeting with the staff of Lalgadh Leprosy Hospital and Services Centre.
Meeting with the staff of Lalgadh Leprosy Hospital and Services Centre.
Photo of Yohei Sasakawa with President Ramchandra Paudel.
Flying back to Kathmandu, I paid a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel (right) at his office.
“President Paudel praised Sasakawa's effort in making the leprosy elimination programs effective in Nepal and across the world,” reported the local newspaper Himalayan.
The article quoted me as saying that the “deep-rooted social stigma surrounding leprosy must be addressed to eradicate the world's oldest and most feared disease”　and that  “the close cooperation between the Health Ministry and leprosy NGOs” maximizes their respective strengths, complements each other's efforts and helps to advance leprosy activities across the country.
My visit to Madhesh Province confirmed my belief that the best place to find solutions is at the site where people are grappling with the problems directly. I will continue to make visits to endemic areas part of my life’s work.
I ended my visit to Nepal feeling inspired and freshly committed to achieving zero leprosy.

 

(End)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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