Leprosy

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a new partnership with International Samaritan, a select group of Trinity Health doctors and residents will be traveling to care for patients at a hospital in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, as part of the Trinity Health Ann Arbor residency program. Continue Reading A new partnership is being formed that brings Trinity Health physicians and residents to the capital city of Ethiopia for month-long rotations at Alert Hospital. Dr. John Watt, MD, Director of Medical Education for Trinity Health Ann Arbor and Livingston, is coordinating the partnership after traveling with International Samaritan to Ethiopia this past October. "This is a unique triple win–for people in Ethiopia, the doctors serving them, and our Samaritan Scholars who are working to make the world better," said International Samaritan President Mike Tenbusch. International Samaritan has been working in Addis Ababa since 2014, offering a scholarship program (recipients are called Samaritan Scholars) and helping families that depend on the city's garbage dump for their survival and livelihood. A team of Trinity Health doctors traveled with International Samaritan to Addis Ababa this past October to visit the area and explore the idea of a partnership for Trinity Health residents. This spring, eight physicians and residents will be doing their first month-long rotation in Addis Ababa. The team from Trinity Health will be stationed at Alert Hospital. Trinity Health plans to send small teams six times per year on rotations in the years ahead. "We'll be providing extra people power for their overworked health system," said John Watt, MD, Director of Medical Education for Trinity Health Ann Arbor and Livingston. Watt visited Alert Hospital with International Samaritan last fall. He said the partnership will allow his residents "to learn things they only see in textbooks." "It was eye-opening for me," Watt said. "It will give our residents a new perspective on what the world is like and not just what we regularly see in America." For example, Watt explained that in Ethiopia, the Trinity Health residents may see patients with typhoid fever, leprosy, measles, malaria, and much more that they don't regularly see during a rotation in America. "When you don't regularly see it and care for it, you don't remember it as well," Watt said. "This experience will be very beneficial educationally for our residents and it will also help the people in Addis Ababa, who often have to wait in a giant line to be seen by a doctor." Along with working at Alert Hospital, during their rotation, the Trinity Health physicians and residents will spend a day caring for the people that International Samaritan works with. These are people who live in or near the city's garbage dump and who make their living by picking through trash for recyclables. "Sixty International Samaritan families underwent comprehensive check-ups when three generous doctors from Trinity Health visited last October," said Selam Kahsay, International Samaritan's Health and Wellness Specialist in Ethiopia. "One of them, the mother of one of our young Samaritan Scholars, received a timely diagnosis that likely saved her life." Kahsay explained that access to health care is one of the most pressing needs of the people she regularly works with near the garbage dump in Addis Ababa. This partnership enhances the foundation built when International Samaritan teamed up with the local health authority to build two wells, bringing fresh water to that community in 2020. "I was really impressed with the International Samaritan team in Ethiopia," Watt said. "They are incredibly talented, and they work out of love for a community of some of the most resilient people I have ever met." About International Samaritan Founded in 1994 in Ann Arbor, Mich., International Samaritan is a Christ-centered organization built on Catholic Social Teaching. Its mission is to walk hand-in-hand with people in communities surrounding the garbage dumps of developing nations to help them break out of poverty. It provides holistic scholarships for 950 students from kindergarten through college, supporting scholars in Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa. To learn more, visit intsam.org. SOURCE International Samaritan

Seoul National University Hospital has been designated as a national strategic technology-specialised research institute by the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. As such, it is expected to lead the country's effort to promote national strategic technologies as mandated by the National Strategic Technology Promotion Act, which was passed in February last year. It will conduct R&D and human resource training and be involved in international cooperation in the biotechnology field, focusing on digital health and health data analysis and utilisation. Indian drone tech Skye Air Mobility has bagged contracts for drone delivery projects in seven public medical institutions in India. Skye Air will deploy its drone to deliver life-saving medicines and blood in remote villages in a few minutes, as well as quickly transfer blood and pathological samples between hospitals. The following institutes will try out drone delivery: All India Institute Of Medical Science branches in Jodhpur, Rajkot, Bhubaneswar, All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health in Kolkata, Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute in Chengalpattu, and Regional Leprosy Training & Research Institutes in Bankura and Aska. Tertiary hospital Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) in Mumbai has recently beefed up the cybersecurity of its IT infrastructure with solutions from Check Point amid the rise of "sophisticated" cyber threats in India. It has replaced its manual data aggregation process with Check Point's Maestro Hyperscale Network Security, an AI-powered centralised system to streamline workflows and optimise resources. Maestro has also provided visibility into open ports to enable independent remediations. KDAH also implemented the Check Point Harmony Endpoint to enhance endpoint security. It also plans to later introduce Check Point Email & Collaboration to strengthen its email security. "Since onboarding Check Point, we’ve had virtually no security issues," KDAH CIO Srinivasan Raman testified . KDAH's IT infrastructure is said to be made u p of 300 virtual servers, 75 physical servers, virtual databases, and 2,500 endpoints. Cardiology DTx company Lupin from India has partnered with the American College of Cardiology to offer what could be the world's first professional certificate on digital therapeutics. Based on a press release, ACC will grant the "digital pioneer" certificates to participating cardiologists who are using Lupin's remote cardiac rehabilitation and digital heart failure solutions. Merck has launched its first digital hub outside the United States and Europe. The Merck Digital Hub in Singapore, which was launched with the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board, is expected to promote digital innovation and talent across healthcare, semiconductor, and AI. It will be leveraging data collaboration ecosystems, Syntropy and Athinia, which help organisations integrate and curate their data while maintaining high-quality standards set by their sector.

TOKYO, Feb. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) Initiative has partnered with the World Health Organization to co-host the launch of the 2024 Global Appeal to end stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy at WHO headquarters in Geneva on January 31, 2024. Taking part in the ceremony were Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, and Yohei Sasakawa, the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and Chairman of The Nippon Foundation. Continue Reading Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (right), the WHO Director-General, and Yohei Sasakawa (left), the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, look on during the reading of the 2024 Global Appeal. This year's appeal calls on people to learn the facts about leprosy, share accurate information and create a world where no one is left behind because of a treatable disease. "Let us break the chains of discrimination, work toward a leprosy-free world, and ensure dignity and care for everyone affected by this disease," the appeal says. The text was read by Anushka Sarna from India and Ahlula Moyo from South Africa, children of WHO staff members based in Geneva.The 2024 Global Appeal is the 19th in a series of annual appeals dating back to 2006. An initiative of WHO Goodwill Ambassador Sasakawa, the appeal is launched on or near World Leprosy Day, which is marked on the last Sunday in January.Each appeal has been endorsed by influential individuals or organizations who support its call end to discrimination against persons affected by leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease. To date, the list of supporters includes Nobel Peace Prize laureates, the International Bar Association, the World Medical Association and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. This year, the WHO has joined the list.The launch ceremony began with a Stradivarius Mini-Concert featuring outstanding young violinists Giuseppe Gibonni and Rino Yoshimoto.In a video message, the UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy, Dr. Beatriz Miranda Galarza, said there is an urgent need to establish a system of support and care, grounded in human rights, given the fact there are some 200,000 new cases of leprosy reported each year and millions of people living with disability due to leprosy. "Guaranteeing access to a high-quality support and care system is not only a human rights obligation, but also a condition to ensure the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their families," she said.Dr. Roderico H. Ofrin, the WHO Representative in India, which reports the highest number of cases in the world, said in a video message that India's five-year National Strategic Plan and Roadmap for Leprosy, launched in 2023, prioritizes combating stigma and ensuring the protection of the human rights of persons affected by leprosy. A critical component of this plan is to repeal all remaining discriminatory laws at the national and sub-national levels, he said, and it also includes the provision of psychological care and counselling to promote mental health.Also contributing a video message was Dr. Bardan Jung Rana, the WHO Representative in Bangladesh, which has the fifth-highest number of leprosy cases in the world. He noted that at national leprosy conferences in 2019 and 2023, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had called for Bangladesh to achieve zero leprosy by 2030, and Dr. Bardan expressed willingness to work with the government and the private sector to realize this goal.In a dialogue between Director-General Tedros and Goodwill Ambassador Sasakawa, the latter noted that the WHO and Sasakawa Leprosy Initiative had been collaborating on leprosy elimination for some 50 years, and that working on one particular cause for this long is quite rare. "There has to be an outcome from this long collaboration," he said.Dr. Tedros said that the WHO's Global Leprosy (Hansen's disease) Strategy 2021-2030 clearly sets out what needs to be done to achieve zero leprosy, and that the WHO will do everything to support countries in implementing it. He emphasized that promoting community cooperation and eliminating stigma and discrimination through a people-centered approach will contribute to early diagnosis and treatment and prevent disability. Following the Global Appeal, Goodwill Ambassador Sasakawa was due to travel Tanzania, where he plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro from February 7 in support of the "Don't Forget Leprosy" campaign. About Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) InitiativeThe Initiative is a strategic alliance between WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination Yohei Sasakawa, The Nippon Foundation and Sasakawa Health Foundation for achieving a world without leprosy and problems related to the disease. Since 1975, The Nippon Foundation and Sasakawa Health Foundation have supported the national leprosy programs of endemic countries through the WHO, with support totaling some US$200 million to date. In cooperation with the Japanese government and other partners, the foundations have played an important role in advocating with the United Nations, helping to secure a 2010 UN General Assembly resolution on elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members and the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on leprosy by the UN Human Rights Council in 2017. About Leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, is an infectious disease that mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted case-finding activities, over 200,000 new cases were being reported annually. Leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy, but left untreated can result in permanent disability. Many myths and misconceptions surround the disease. In various parts of the world, patients, those who have been treated and cured, and even their family members continue to be stigmatized. The discrimination they face limits their opportunities for education, employment and full participation in society. SOURCE Sasakawa Health Foundation