News
Veracel and Sesab continue to combat leprosy and tuberculosis - 02.25.05
On February 23, Veracel delivered two vehicles to the Bahia State Health Secretariat (Sesab) to help the leprosy eradication campaign currently underway in the municipalities of Eunápolis, Itagimirim, Itapebi, Canavieiras, Belmonte, Santa Cruz Cabrália, Porto Seguro, Itabela, Guaratinga and Santa Luzia, and the extreme south of Bahia. The delivery was made at the site of the 8th Regional Health Board (Dires) in Eunápolis during a meeting attended by the company’s general manager for the environment and institutional relations, Cristina Moreno, the Director of the Bahia State Health Secretariat, Edgard Crusoé, the director of the 8th Regional Health Board, Izael Meira, the coordinator of the program, Graça Gil, and the municipal health secretaries from the region.
"Dealing with public health means not only curing diseases; it is to offer a dignified way of life to the population, through employment, nutrition, safety, etc. And Veracel, besides directly helping the health program, also is bringing this development and these investments to the south of Bahia," said Crusoé. The company is investing R$ 1.4 million in the project; the goal is to eliminate leprosy and tuberculosis within two years. Sesab and the governments of the cities involved, through a team of three doctors, a nurse, a physical therapist and a secretary, are carrying out the work.
In Brazil, leprosy is still public health problem despite a significant reduction in the number of cases, from 16.4 to 4.4 patients out of every 10,000 inhabitants between 1985 and 2002. The country occupies first place the world in the number of cases of the disease. In the Northeast, the growth rate of the disease is double the national average. Currently, in Bahia there are 53 municipalities that are considered a priority for combating leprosy, since they represent 80.5% of the cases that already have been registered and 84.3% of the new cases registered in 2004. Among the 12 municipalities that are most affected in the state are Eunápolis, Belmonte and Porto Seguro, including with high rates identified in children under the age of 15.