News and notes
This department furnishes information concerning institutions, organizations, and individuals engaged in work on leprosy and other mycobacterial diseases, and makes note of scientific meetings and other matters of interest.
Ethiopia. ALERT2002 training program in tuberculosis and leprosy. ALERT offers the following courses in 2002:
Prevention and management of disabilities
Target group: physiotherapists, occupational therapists, podiatrists as well as experienced leprosy workers involved in POD. Emphasis on both patient care (early detection of nerve function deterioration, health promotion, problem solving) and program management (POD management, home- based care and rehabilitation).
Clinical leprosy and tropical dermatology for physicians
Highly recommended for the participants in the following "Management of combined programs" course who need to refresh their knowledge of clinical leprosy and tropical dermatology. The course can also be taken on its own by physicians responsible for diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with leprosy in either a hospital or a control program setting.
Management of combined leprosy and tuberculosis control programs for physicians
Target group: experienced physicians responsible for managing a leprosy and TB control program at the regional level or above. Emphasis on program management: needs analysis, action plan, implementation of activities, supervision, evaluation, management of POD. Participants without leprosy experience should also take the preceding "Clinical leprosy" course.
Essentials of leprosy and tuberculosis for administrative and program support staff
Target group: administrative and managerial staff without a medical background, working in leprosy and TB programs and donor agencies. Objectives: to gain a better understanding of the two diseases, to communicate more effectively with the medical staff and to contribute more efficiently in decision making and priority setting.
Essentials of leprosy for physicians
This course is for participants new to the field of leprosy or who need to refresh their knowledge. It aims at physicians responsible for diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with leprosy in either a hospital or a control program setting.
Clinical leprosy for senior field staff
Highly recommended for the participants in the following "Management of combined programs" course who need to refresh their knowledge of clinical leprosy. The course can also be taken on its own.
Management of combined leprosy and tuberculosis control programs for senior field staff
Target group: experienced nurses, paramedical workers or supervisors responsible for leprosy and TB control at the district (or equivalent) level. Emphasis on planning, implementation, supervision and evaluation of control activities, with special attention to POD. health promotion and support functions. Participants without leprosy experience should also take the preceding "Clinical leprosy" course.
Tuberculosis Program Managers Course
This course is organized jointly with the Nuffield Institute for Health, Leeds Universify, U.K. Target group: health managers responsible for TB control activities at the national or intermediate level. Course objectives: to present the concepts on which TB control strategies are based and to identify key program elements. The course modules are organized around the stages of the programme management cycle.
Training of trainers course
This course is recommended for all cadres of health workers (physicians, senior field staff, physiotherapists, program managers, nurses, etc.) who help heath workers to learn. The course covers task analysis, setting up education objectives, preparation of lesson plans and teaching methodology, including bedside teaching, assessment techniques, designing appropriate audio-visual aids and teaching programme evaluation.
If you are interested in any of these training opportunities, contact the Training Division of ALERT. You will be sent a brochure with practical information about staying at ALERT and an application form which you should fill and send at least 3 months before the course starts.
Health
ALERT does not provide health insurance. Please make sure that you are suitably insured before coming to Ethiopia.
You need a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate. Malaria prophylaxis is recommended. Although there is no malaria at ALERT, you may be exposed during field visits.
ALERT is situated at 2,400 meters above sea level so the climate can be cold. It is recommended that you bring warm clothes and rain wear.
Visa formalities
As soon as you are accepted for a course, we will send you a letter of acceptance which you may use to obtain a visa for Ethiopia. Because administrative formalities can be time consuming, we advise you to apply as early as possible.
If your country has no Ethiopian Embassy, please send your passport number, nationality and your name as written in the passport to ALERT at least 3 weeks before you are due to leave. We will then fax your entry permit number. You need this to get on the plane. At Addis Ababa airport immigration, you will be issued with an entry visa which you will have to pay personally in hard currency. You should bring US$25 for this.
Upon departure, you need US$20 to pay for your airport tax.
In-service training
ALERT can offer in-service training in physiotherapy, surgery, dermatology, ophthalmology, etc. Students will have the opportunity to practice in the 240-bed hospital and in the field and use self-study facilities such as CD-ROMs, video, slide programs and library. It is possible for trainees attending courses to opt to stay on for in-service training after the courses have finished. The duration and content of the in-service training period will be arranged according to the experience and the interest of the individual trainee.
Training fees
Students stay at the ALERT hostel. Each student has a single study room. The bathroom is shared between four students.
Basic training fees amount to US$460 per week. This covers tuition, full board and lodging, laundry facilities, airport service, weekend transportation and Ethiopian Birr 30 per day pocket money. Field trips are an additional US$25 per day for transportation, facilitation and living expenses. Special rates are available for long-term inservice trainees. Please note that ALERT does not provide any sponsorship.
If you would like more information about a specific course, you can visit the ALERT web site www.telecom.net.et/~tdalert or you can request a detailed course schedule from the Training Division of ALERT.
For further information, please contact: ALERT Training Division, P.O. Box 165, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tel.: 251-1-711524 or 251-1-712792; Fax: 251-1-711199 or 251-1-711390; E-mail: leprosytb@telecom.net.et
France. Réunion de l'Association des Léprologues de Langue Française (ALLF).
Au cours du Congrès de l'Association des Dermatologues Francophones qui s'est déroulé à Cayenne, en Guyane, du 22 au 26 février 2001, une réunion des membres et sympathisants de l'ALLF a eu lieu le samedi 24 février, à la suite des conférences "Mycobactéries et MST." Une cinquantaine de personnes étaient présentes.
Au cours de cette réunion, aminée par Claude Péan et Pierre Bobin, les sujets suivants ont été discutés:
• Discussion à propos des nouvelles recommandations de l'OMS.
• Information sur l'ALLF, dont l'une des principales activités est de participer à l'information et la formation continue dans les domaines de la lèpre et de l'ulcère de Buruli dans les pays francophones.
• Le Bulletin de l'ALLF, organe essentiel de l'association: on a fait le point après les 8 premiers numéros parus et parlé de son avenir. A l'unanimité, les participants ont dit être très satisfaits de cette revue qui s'améliore de numéro en numéro.
• Projet de création d'un groupe de dicus- sion francophone (courier électronique) concernant la lèpre permettant à des médicins isolés d'obtenir très rapidement l'avis d'experts sur des cas difficiles ou de communiquer des informations pouvant intéresser l'ensemble des personnes participant à la lutte contre ces 2 affections. La majorité des participants se sont montrés favorables à cette création de liste appelée LEPROLIST et qui a été installée, au mois de mars, avec l'appui technique de "Derma- tonet," un site créé pour des dermatologues par Ludovic Rousseau, à Bordeaux.
• Projet d'un Congrès des Léprologues de Langue Française. Vu les contraintes budgétaires, il est difficile d'envisager de continuer, comme précédemment, la formule d'un Congrès de l'ALLF tous les 5 ans. Par contre, l'ensemble des participants est favorable à une formule qui consisterait à organiser une Réunion à laquelle participeraient les personnes vraiment concernées (responsables de programmes lèpre, experts, représentants d'association membres de l'ILEP . . .) pour aborder les sujets qui sont encore objet de divergences et essayer d'arriver à un consensus pour en finir une fois pour toutes avec les diverses polémiques qui persistent encore dans le milieu léprologique.- Pierre Bobin Bull. ALLF9(2001)58
India. BLP helps hospital observe Silver Jubilee Year program. The Bombay Leprosy Project (BLP) observed the 22nd anniversary of its Leela Moolgaonkar Leprosy ward in the Adams Wylie Hospital with a tea party for the patients on 23 July 2001. The function this year assumed special significance in view of BLP observing its Silver Jubilee Year. The patients and staff assembled and pledged to work incessantly toward their dream of a "World Without Leprosy."
Ms. Vinchala Bala, a Canadian student who is spending 2 months with BLP, and who is carrying out an investigation on vocational training and rehabilitation of the handicapped in BLP, was the guest of honor. She exhorted the patients to face their difficulties resolutely, and she also complimented the staff of BLP for their sustained and untiring efforts in their service to leprosy patients. Mr. Rikin Morzaria who is studying issues related to human rights being associated with "India Center for Human Rights and Law" also participated.
The leprosy patients may unfortunately be deprived of the vital services of the Adams Wylie Hospital made available to them for so long since the Indian Red Cross Society, which had asked the BLP as far back as 1979 to run this leprosy ward, has now decided to evict BLP to enable demolition of the hospital structure as they have other grandiose plans for this heritage site.- R. Ganapati
U.K. ILA History of Leprosy project. A Research Off icer has been appointed for the International Leprosy Association (ILA) Global Project on the History of Leprosy. The Research Officer will be based in the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, University of Oxford, U.K.
Following recent advertisement, six candidates applied and three were short-listed and interviewed in July 2001. Dr. Jo Robertson (Brisbane, Australia) was appointed as Research Officer for the project period of 20 months, starting in October 2001. Dr Robertson's research has included leprosy in terms of imperial and colonial relations in Queensland history and her thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Queensland in 1999 dealt with leprosy both as disease and metaphor in Europe and the British Empire and the implications for the colony of Queensland at the turn of the last century.
The Research Officer, under the supervision of the Acting Director of the Wellcome Unit, Dr. Mark Harrison, will be responsible for the creation of a database of historical collections relating to leprosy throughout the world. Collections may relate to any period, but the main focus will be on the modern era, from 1830 onward. Additional input will include: 1) encouraging leprosy organizations and projects to do all possible to preserve their records and archives, and 2) building a network of academics interested in historical research into leprosy.
This project first started in September 1999 as an initiative of the ILA, the scientific society of doctors, researchers and others working in leprosy. It is supported by the Nippon Foundation, Japan, and has professional links with colleagues in the World Health Organization. A Steering Group for the project, created by the ILA will meet once or twice a year and the Research Officer will have support from Mr. Paul Sommerfeld, past General Secretary of the International Federation of Anti-leprosy Associations and Dr. A. Colin McDougall, previously Department of Dermatology, Oxford.
U.K. International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP- Health). "Providing access to reliable health information for health workers in developing countries is potentially the single most cost-effective and achievable strategy for sustainable improvement in health care." British Medical Journal 1997; 314: 9
INASP-Health's mission is to strengthen and support the activities of organizations worldwide toward the common goal of providing universal access to reliable information for health professionals in resource-poor countries.
• Advisory and Referral Network. INASP- Health promotes collaboration and sharing of expertise and experience through its advisory and referral network, which involves more than 750 organizations and individuals, North and South. Partners are kept up to date with current events in the field through the INASP Newsletter.
• Health Information Forum. INASP- Health runs a series of 2-monthly workshops, with guest speakers from developing countries and e-mail contributions from health professionals, publishers, librarians and information workers worldwide. The emphasis is to support and help those involved in health information work.
• All workshops take place at the British Medical Association, London, registration at 15.30 hr. Participation is free thanks to complementary facilities from the BMA. Contact
<INASP_Health@compuserve.com> to reserve your place.
• INASP-Health Directory. INASP-Health publishes a directory of organizations working to improve access to reliable information for health professionals in developing countries. Serves as a networking tool for building professional relationships and sharing information, and as reference for those in resource-poor settings who are seeking support. Now available free online.
• HIF-net at WHO is the e-mail discussion list dedicated to issues of health information access in resource-poor settings. Launched in July 2000 in collaboration with WHO, the list promotes cross-sectoral communication among providers and users of health information. It currently has over 450 participants, including health professionals, librarians, publishers, NGOs, and international agencies.
To join, e-mail your name, affiliation and professional interests to <INASP_Health@compuserve.com>.
Contact: Dr. Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Program Manager, INASP-Health, 27 Park End Street, Oxford OX1 IHU, U.K. Tel. 44-1865-248124; FAX 44-2865-251060