Stories of hardship and hope: Towards zero leprosy in Cambodia

5 December 2022

Cambodia has made great progress in reducing leprosy – in 2019, the country reported that 127 people were receiving treatment and there were 92 new cases, and in 2020, those numbers fell to 55 and 38 respectively. But leprosy has not been eliminated completely, and small hotspots still exist in communities around the country. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted case detection and efforts to work with affected communities, and so the country has renewed its push to eliminate this neglected tropical disease by 2030.

Leprosy is not highly infectious, but it is a chronic disease that can be transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth during close and frequent contact with people not receiving treatment. If left untreated, leprosy can cause progressive and permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Leprosy is curable, and treatment in the early stages is critical to prevent disability.

Achieving zero leprosy in Cambodia is now within sight. It will require effective prevention,  treatment and care of the disease through the deployment of Cambodia’s dense network of leprosy health workers and working with communities to ensure patients receive the support they need, especially those who are disproportionally affected - women, children and ethnic minorities. Ending the stigma around the disease is also crucial so that people feel comfortable seeking help and supporting others through treatment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided technical and financial support to the Royal Government of Cambodia, through the Ministry of Health and partners, in numerous areas of leprosy prevention, treatment and care, including active case finding, contact tracing, social rehabilitation, and piloting interventions for elimination. WHO will continue its support until the goal of interrupting transmission of leprosy is reached.

Scroll through the photos below to hear from three people who are no longer infectious with leprosy and live in Troeung Village, a haven for people affected by leprosy in Kampong Cham Province. They share their empowering stories and advice for others. 

 

©WHO/Luisa Ryan
Hun Ngor, 61. “If you think you may have leprosy, please come to get treatment.”
© Credits

Hun Ngor, 61. “If you think you may have leprosy, please come to get treatment.”

I have known I had leprosy since I was about 10 years old.

When I was about 16 years old, I realised that my fingers were becoming like claws, and that I had wounds on my hands and body.

When I was about 17 or 18, the villagers threw me out of my village, and banned me from returning. They said that they didn’t need to kill me, as there were tigers in the forest, and they would eat me. 

People from another village who were collecting wood found me. They built a small cottage for me, and gave me rice, dried fish and salt to eat. I was left alone at night in the forest when everyone else returned to their village.

A few days later, people from my village came to see if I was still alive, or if I had been eaten.

Because my family was killed during the Pol Pot regime, I was alone in the forest with the wildlife. I tried to come back to my village. They wouldn’t let me come back, threw stones and an old landmine at me. It didn’t explode at the time, but one evening, they were throwing it to each other, and it blew up. One person was killed.

To survive, I looked after cows and buffalos in the forest in exchange for food. Then someone from an organisation brought me here to Troeung Village. I was around 30 years old.

When I came here, I discovered that I had an infected wound with maggots in it. They dressed it here, but it didn’t get better. I was then sent to Phnom Penh for treatment. Once it was healed, I came back to live here.

I got married and had children, it was a new life. But with children came more problems: we often didn’t have enough to eat. When that happened, I would hurt myself so that I could go to the hospital where there was food.

I now work looking after cars and trucks for their owners.

When I was first diagnosed, we didn’t have medicine or education on leprosy. If you think you may have leprosy, please come to get treatment, it is now 100% curable.

Please don’t discriminate against those who are affected by leprosy, I never want to face that again.

©WHO/Luisa Ryan
© Credits

Lay Houth, 79: “People with leprosy can be successful - please don’t discriminate against us.”

When I was 16 years old, I lived and studied in Phnom Penh. One of my brothers wanted to take me to China for treatment, but Troeung Village was well known for curing leprosy.

In 1970, I got married. After the Pol Pot regime, I bought a bicycle and travelled around Kampong Cham Province collecting recycling. As I got older, I bought the recycling from other people, and gathered it here to sell.

The older house behind me was constructed in 1979. The other house was built using the profits from my recycling business, which did very well.

People with leprosy can be successful, please don’t discriminate against us. 

©WHO/Luisa Ryan
Noy Yang, 79. “We need support. The people in this village are old and disabled, it is hard work.”
© Credits

Noy Yang, 79. “We need support. The people in this village are old and disabled, it is hard work.”

Because my father had leprosy, and I had developed the first signs of leprosy, we moved to Troeung Village to get treatment.

When I was seven months old, my mother passed away, and when I was 12, after my leprosy diagnosis, my father passed away.

During the Sihanouk period (1955-1970), I had a lot of support from the government. They gave me a lot of food – rice and meat. People who didn’t have any disabilities could go and work in the farms and plantations.

During the Pol Pot regime, around 3000 leprosy-affected people lived here. I worked like other people in the field, and received just one bowl of porridge a day, like everyone else.

After Pol Pot, I came back to this village and the government gave me around 70 square metres to cultivate rice.

I married a man, who was affected by leprosy, in 1970, and had one child. Around 2000, my husband became a monk, and later died. I now live alone. My child doesn’t support me.

Every day I pick wild greens to sell in the market. I make around 3000 Cambodian riels (about US$ .75) per day. It is just enough. I am healthy because I eat natural greens that don’t have pesticides.

What I really need is medicine for the other diseases I have. We need support. The people in this village are old and disabled, it is hard to work.

I would like people to know that leprosy is curable now.

I will live here in this village until I die. It is now my home. 

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