Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Helping Bangladesh's tea workers cope with Leprosy

Lepra's new CHAI project is improving the health and well-being of tea workers lives in Bangladesh.

Helping Bangladesh's tea workers cope with Leprosy

Leprosy is a persistent problem in the tea-growing area of Moulvibazar District, Sylhet, where leprosy management has been neglected for many years, due to poorly funded and under-equipped health system structures. Poor case detection and the lack of early treatment have led to an increase in disabilities caused by leprosy, which in turn has a significant impact on people’s emotional well-being and ability to maintain employment.

Bangladesh is the world’s ninth-largest tea producer. There are about 100,000 registered workers and 30,000 seasonal workers in 167 tea estates. The total number of tea workers and their families is estimated to be around 500,000.


Lepra’s new Community Health and Inclusion (CHAI) project is addressing the needs and gaps in health care provision in this particularly vulnerable group and increasing access to vital health and support structures, helping to improve the lives of people affected by leprosy within the district. The project is funded by investment company, Baillie Gifford who have previously funded Lepra’s mental health projects in Bangladesh.

The COVID-19 pandemic and strict nationwide lockdown exposed the vulnerability of some of the country's poorest and most marginalised communities. The tea workers faced a grim situation as they had no money to buy food when the pandemic struck. Food prices also increased during this time.

Bangladesh’s strict lockdowns forced the workers into even more severe conditions, and many people fell sick due to poor levels of nutrition. Many of the people affected by leprosy, with ulcers and other problems, were unable to visit hospital for follow-up due to lockdown and economic hardship.

The CHAI project, over 12 months aims to work directly with 240 people with the most immediate need and provide group information and awareness sessions to 12,960 people, as part of a leprosy prevention and early case detection and treatment campaign. Through the provision of specialist protective footwear, training in vital self-care techniques, and the creation of 24 new community groups, the CHAI project will create a more resilient support structure for people affected by leprosy and gives this neglected community a powerful voice that can no longer be ignored.

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less