AFP通信のインスタグラム(afpphoto) - 1月27日 00時43分

AFP Photo ?@mananvatsyayana - Life after leprosy in Vietnam - #Health
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Tran Huu Hoa was scared, desperate and on the verge of suicide after his leprosy diagnosis in 1958, fearing he'd never work or marry in an age when lepers were completely shunned from Vietnamese society.
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He could not imagine he would find new life at the leprosy hospice where he has been living for 61 years, a walled off compound in northern Thai Binh province where he met his wife, worked as a union boss and took in needy children.
. "There were about 2,000 people here then, mostly young people. It was fun because we started a teen union," the 80-year-old told AFP, sitting on his bed with his wife Teo of 54 years.
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Today there are only 190 patients at the hospital, all cured but living with disabilities caused by leprosy.
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Many walk with prosthetic legs. Others like Hoa have lost fingers. Some are so severely disabled they spend the day bent over in bed, covered with thick blankets to keep the cold at bay.
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Founded in 1900, Van Mon is the oldest leprosy hospital in northern Vietnam.
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At its peak it treated 4,000 patients a year -- a number that has dwindled as leprosy cases have dropped across Vietnam thanks to improved healthcare, hygiene and greater awareness of the disease.
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#vietnam #photojournalism #portrait #leprosy #documentary #documentaryphotography

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