Learning across borders to fight leprosy

Leprosy patients in Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar are receiving faster treatment thanks to a Norec-supported project where professionals learn from one another.

— I learnt how to handle a low-resource setting in the best possible way. It gave me technical skills, but also confidence, says Prasanna Mizar, that works with prostetics at Anandaban hospital in Nepal.

Through an exchange programme, Mizar travelled to Myanmar to see how leprosy treatment was organised there. He returned to Nepal with fresh insight into his work and a stronger belief in what knowledge sharing can achieve.

Thanks to the exchange, patients are now receiving treatment more quickly, spending less time in hospital, and gaining more independence in their daily lives.

The project is run by The Leprosy Mission (TLM), a global fellowship that has worked to eradicate leprosy since 1874. With support from Norec, professionals like Mizar are able to learn new methods abroad and bring them back to benefit patients at home.

Today, the organisation is active in 29 countries. Even though leprosy can be cured, the disease still causes disability, stigma, and social exclusion in South Asia.

With Norec’s support, TLM in Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar exchange staff between hospitals and clinics. Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, laboratory technicians, and monitoring and evaluation specialists spend months working in new environments – and return home with ideas that can be put to use in their own institutions.

– I came back with new skills and a broader perspective on our work, says Mizar.

Closer to the patients

In all three countries, the exchanges have led to new ways of moving services out of hospitals and closer to the people who need them.

In Nepal, staff have developed simple guidelines that help patients continue physiotherapy at home after surgery. This reduces the number of hospital visits and allows hospitals to use their resources more effectively. In Bangladesh, nurses have started teaching patients how to treat their own wounds.

– It gives patients confidence and a sense of control, while also reducing our workload, explains nurse Akhi Biswas.

In Myanmar, former exchange participants have set up mobile clinics that reach communities with no previous access to health services. Rehabilitation centres have also been strengthened, so that more people can access prosthetics.

Physiotherapist Zin Mar Theint, who is currently on exchange in Nepal, is already planning improvements at home.

– I’ve learnt new ways of organising rehabilitation in local communities. I want to bring these back to strengthen our own services, she says.

New treatment saves time

A groundbreaking method for treating chronic wounds, developed in Nepal, is now being used in Bangladesh. The method, LPRF (Leukocyte Platelet Rich Fibrin), uses a patient’s own blood cells to help wounds heal more quickly. For people affected by leprosy, such wounds might otherwise take six months or more to heal.

Thanks to the exchange, the method has now been introduced at DBLM Hospital in Bangladesh. So far, five patients have received the treatment – and their hospital stays have been reduced from six to eight months to just a few weeks. Shorter hospital stays are a benefit both for patients and for hospitals, which free up much-needed beds and resources.

Additional results underline the potential of the method: by June 2025, The Leprosy Mission International Bangladesh had treated around 38 patients with LPRF (18 in 2024 and 20 in the first half of 2025).

A Bangladeshi doctor who took part in the exchange is now training other hospitals in the method, helping spread the results further. Doctor Amita Corraya says the exchange has also given her greater confidence.

–  I’ve learnt new methods and gained a better understanding of how we can reach patients. It has strengthened my confidence and made our hospital less dependent on external staff, she explains.

Lasting impact for patients

With support from Norec, The Leprosy Mission partners are building stronger health services and creating better opportunities for people living with leprosy.

– Now I can detect leprosy at an earlier stage, and I’m better prepared to treat patients with advanced wounds, says nurse Akhi Biswas.

For patients, this means fewer wounds, shorter hospital stays, and a stronger chance to live with dignity. The participants in the project all share the same experience: they look beyond their own daily tasks and see how small innovations can bring about big changes.