Support for Infectious Diseases

published: 2011-04-20Japanese

Neglected Tropical Diseases are infectious diseases which have had tremendous affects on people recently. Consequently, the importance of taking worldwide measures against the dangers of the Diseases is being recognized. Some professionals have expressed concerns on Buruli ulcer, which is my research theme, as one of the “Neglected Tropical Diseases” for the last dozen years or so.

Project SCOBU (hereafter the Project) at Kobe International University, which is a support group for Buruli ulcer issues in Japan and the author himself also belongs to, develops education-centered supports. The reason the Project focuses on educational supports is that few groups provide supports other than medical care and enough supports are not provided for education and supports toward the patients' family members after treatment.

The Project members have made presentations at the WHO Annual Meeting on Buruli ulcer. The Project, which was established at Kobe International University in 1999, has held such community-based activities as fund-raise, educational activities, local events, charity concerts, lectures at high school and symposiums in Japan so that people in Japan can understand the disease and cooperate with the Project.

As for the Project's international activities, it has established “Kobe International University's Education Fund for Children with Buruli ulcer” in Republic of Benin and Togo. In Togo the Project has also developed the support of in-hospital education. The purpose of the in-hospital education is to enable children with Buruli ulcer to return to school without difficulties after treatment by securing educational opportunities during hospitalization.

Also as a possibility of a new effort for the Project, there is a project using physical therapy. It is conducted by the Rehabilitation Department of Kobe International University. The Department was established in 2009. Its details, including technical support and support of physical therapy equipments, are under consideration.

As a basis for this kind of research I have been conducting my research seeking a clue concerning an ideal support for the Neglected Tropical Diseases not only through Buruli ulcer but through HIV / AIDS. One of its achievements is that I am going to publish a book whose title is Revolution Movements by HVI Positive Patients in Africa Brought about: From a Viewpoint of Ars Vivendi (it is a tentative title and written in Japanese) in school year 2011. In this book I try to analyze HIV from viewpoints which have not been explained enough in the theme-related specialized books by focusing on: 1) how the movements of HIV positive people have influenced the situation (measures / support); 2) how patients have developed activities in spite of fears of death or survival, discrimination / prejudice and suffers of diseases etc.

NIIYAMA Tomoki

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