Persons with tropical diseases receive training in soap-making

Sixty-five persons affected by skin Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) at Zorko in the Bongo District in the Upper East Region have benefitted from free training in soap-making.

The beneficiaries, who are affected by leprosy, Yaws and elephantiasis, were trained in ???moringa, bar and soap??? making. The intervention formed part of the economic and livelihood empowerment for persons living with skin NTDs.

It was organised by the Kunkua Renaissance Development Centre (KURADEC), a community-based organisation (CBO), with funding support from the Anesvad Foundation through the Development Research and Advocacy Centre (DRAC), a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Speaking to the media during the training, the Coordinator, KURADEC, Donatus Awine Adua, said the move is to economically empower the affected persons so that they can engage in profitable ventures to better their lives.

He stated that the organisation realised that such persons were very vulnerable in such a way that the majority of them could not afford basic items to improve their lives, saying, “As an NGO, we decided to source for funding to assist such persons.”

He stressed that as part of the intervention, they thought it wise to provide them with the skills and knowledge to manufacture their own soap for domestic use and to also sell to the public to earn income to take care of some of their needs.

He added that last year, some health workers and community volunteers were trained to assist in the provision of proper care for them and to help in the fight against stigmatisation and misconception about the disease.

“In the rural areas, the level of stigmatisation against NTDs is very high, making it difficult for the affected persons to receive medical care,” he said and further urged the government to consider giving support to such persons to make them feel part of the society.

Concern

The Midwife in charge of the Zorko Health Centre, Freda Alowri, expressed concern that wrong perceptions and stigmatisation among people continued to derail concerted efforts towards fighting the disease.

She disabused the minds of the public that one could be infected by eating with an infected person and urged relations of affected persons to live comfortably with them as that was not the mode of transmission of the disease.

Further, she said regular contact with the affected persons had led to improvement in their conditions, as hitherto most of them were confined in rooms without care, leading to the aggravation of the disease.

While stressing that personal hygiene was key in fighting the disease, she entreated the affected persons to make good use of the skills acquired so that they could earn income to buy some products for their personal use.

A beneficiary, Janet Nsobila, said the sensitisation had helped her to make regular visits to the hospital to dress her wound and take some medications, leading to its healing, and added that training would help her generate income to support herself and the household.

Another beneficiary, Paul Awobgo, added that the intervention had helped to fight stigma in the community because people who used to isolate themselves from them no longer do so.

Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh