Ridding Ethiopia of leprosy

Ethiopia is a land of ancient history and historians say it is a source of human civilization. Maybe because of the fact that Ethiopia has a long recorded history, it is named by some historians as the source of leprosy. However there is no clear proof.
Leprosy was identified as a major health problem in the country in the 1950's. Since then the effort to control leprosy began with the establishment of a National leprosy office in the Ministry of Health with the support of the German Leprosy Relief Association (GLRA).
ALERT stands for All Africa Leprosy Tuberculosis Rehabilitation Research Training Centre. It is located in the previous surroundings of Zenebework Memorial Hospital and was founded by the Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa University, The Leprosy International, American Leprosy Mission and the Society for rehabilitation of the disabled. ALERT's main mission is to provide training formen and women in multiple aspects of leprosy including prevention, treatment and rehabilitation in an African context.

Leprosy is still endemic in the Oromiya, Amhara and Southern Nationalities and Nations regions in the Central and South Eastern highlands of Ethiopia.

With the introduction of MDT (Multi Drug Therapy) for leprosy, the prevalence of the disease was sharply reduced to 0.5%. However the incidence of new leprosy cases has remained constant over the past ten years and is a clear indication that transmission is still going on.

Leprosy patients are diagnosed and treated in all health facilities together with other patients. This is a breakthrough in the abolition of stigmatization and has guaranteed a patient adequate treatment as well as self-respect at all levels of service.

Generally when patients are cured without disability, the acceptance of leprosy sufferers by the community improves and patients enjoy all sorts of social participation. Disability prevention is considered a matter of priority and services are available in leprosy control services. This helps to dispel the stigma that has existed for years and is a major social problem. The strategy to achieve this is through raising awareness in the community about leprosy so that cases are reported to the health facilities at a very early stage of the disease before disabilities ensue.

Since July 2002, ALERT has modified its activities and is now a tertiary referral and teaching hospital for leprosy and skin diseases under the administration of the Ministry of Health. Its current mission is based on provision of quality service and a training centre for leprosy, rehabilitation, surgery, tropical dermatology, ophthalmology and relevant infectious diseases.

Based on training and research, ALERT provides national and international short term courses on various aspects of leprosy, tuberculosis, dermatology and rehabilitative surgery recruiting participants from around the world.

Every month, What's Up! takes a look at a person or organization working hard to improve the condition of those in Addis Ababa and the rest of the country.