Disability Prevention in Mozambique

The facts:

This three-year project launched in April of 2015 and focuses on finding cases of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and leprosy before a disability sets in with people living in the Zambezia Province of Mozambique. It also looks at helping those who already have a disability by finding ways to reintegrate them into work and society. We are working alongside the Netherlands Leprosy Relief to do this.

The aim: 

We want to ensure that fewer people are left with a disability as a result of leprosy and LF but we also want to work with those who are already living with one to make life a little easier for them. That means supporting women and men in their reintegration into the economic mainstream and society.

This contributes to our overall objective of enabling children, women and men affected by leprosy and LF to overcome disease, poverty, and prejudice.

What exactly are we doing?

The project aims tackles health issues by actively looking for cases of LF and leprosy but, it also looks at ways of helping those already impacted by disease.  

• We are training 240 community champions to detect cases of LF and leprosy
• We help those affected by disease advocate for access to disability benefits through provincial and national governments
• We are providing more health education to communities as well as teaching them self-care techniques
• We are establishing self-help groups to give individuals an opportunity to learn a new skill

So far...

We have reached 134 people in the Zambezia area and the majority of those have been referred through our community champions who are actively finding cases of LF and leprosy.

The figures: 

We hope that overall this will:

• Increase access to disability services for 2025 people affected by leprosy, LF or other disabilities
• Improve skills among the public health network and within community organisations to address social, health and economic needs of affected people
• Improve socio-economic status of people affected by disability
• Increase the number of people affected by leprosy and LF seeking treatment and claiming their rights. This includes improving awareness of LF and leprosy among 16,000 children and 64,000 adults

How can you help?

To help us continue this vital work for in Mozambique, you can check out our fundraise page where you can explore ways or running, cycling and even baking helping to fundraise for Lepra!