About the author
Yamin Hasibuan was born 7 May 1943 in Poriaha, Sibolga, Central Tapanuli
District of North Sumatera province. From early childhood he always moved from
place to place in Indonesia.
Formal Education: Elementary School in Huraba-Pagaranjulu, Sipirok South Tapanuli, Junior High School in Lahat Palembang South Sumatera,
Senior High School in Purwokerto, Central Java province, Medical Faculty of
Gaja Mada University Yogyakarta, Public
Health Faculty of Mahidol University, Bangkok Thailand.
Government Civil Service: worked in Mataram General Hospital of West
Nusa Tenggara, District Medical Officer of Dompu West Nusa Tenggara, CDC Officer,
Mataram Lombok, Sitanala Leprosy Hospital of Tangerang Banten, Sub-directorate
Leprosy Control, Directorate General CDC & Environmental Health Ministry of
Health Jakarta. Retirement, May 1999.
Publications:
1. Hasibuan Y, Leprosy Control in
Indonesia, Leprosy Profile with special attention to MD Implementation,
SMHF/MDT Series 2 (1991) pp 11-22.
2. Hasibuan Y, Leprosy Control
Program in Indonesia 1991, Seminar on Leprosy Control, Seoul, Korea 3-7 Nov
1991, pp 270-288
3. Hasibuan Y, Treatment
Compliance in Leprosy, International Symposium, Leprosy and The Family, Cairo
12-16 March 1995, pp 106-111
4. Hasibuan Y, Leprosy Elimination
Campaign in Indonesia, Human Face of Leprosy ILU&AHM, 1998, pp 69-74
The Unforgettable Journey
from Dompu
The Dompu district is located on Sumbawa
Island (Population: 63,108 in 1973). In terms of population, Dompu was the
smallest of all 6 districts in the Province of West Nusa Tenggara.
After my graduation from the Faculty of
Medicine of the Gajah Mada University Yogyakarta in 1973, I joined the Civil
Service. I was then appointed as head of the district health office in Dompu. I
was stunned by the existence of leprosy patients in Dompu. The total number of
leprosy patients was 48 of a total population of 63,108 people. Hence the prevalence
rate in 1973 was 7.8 per 10,000 population
Leprosy patients are usually treated in a different
way than other patients. They use separate clinics, with specially trained
staff and mostly isolated from the general patients. The disease causes anaesthetic
hypopigmented or red lesions, infiltration and sometimes nodules under the skin.
In advanced cases complications can develop such as ulcers on hands and feet,
deformed fingers, lagophthalmos, drop foot and other deformities.
The problems related to leprosy are huge
and complicated, not only in medical, but also in socio-economic terms. A
number of questions came to mind: Why are there so many leprosy affected people
in the community? Can this disease be eradicated? Can treatment lead to
complete recovery? Can the physical deformities be avoided? Why are people so scared
of this disease? Why is there such a great stigma surrounding leprosy?
The knowledge I acquired at the Medical
Faculty fell short and I was unable to answer these questions. I was inspired
to increase my knowledge on leprosy. I was further encouraged after reading an
article by Jean-Marie Javron in a September 1977 Readers’ Digest edition entitled
“Papa Raoul: The Lepers’ Apostle”
Leprosy Education, Workshops/Seminars/Congress
and Consultancies
Other than what I learned in university, my
first leprosy education was in Pusat
Latihan Kusta Nasional (National Leprosy Training Center) in Makassar 1978.
My charismatic teachers the late Dr. B. Zuiderhoek and late Dr. A.A.
Louhenapessy, highly motivated me.
After that, many courses, seminars,
workshops etc. followed:
A six weeks leprosy course for Medical Officers, SLRT Karigiri India
(1980),
a WHO Fellowship Leprosy Control for 3
months in Thailand, India, Malaysia (1980),
a comparative study in the Philippines
(1990)
I participated in different seminars and
workshops, such as: inter-country workshops ’Implementation and evaluation MDT’,
Madras India (1989), Kathmandu Nepal (1990), Bangkok Thailand (1991).
I attended WHO meetings in Geneva, New
Delhi, Seoul, Colombo,
the 4th International Workshop
on Leprosy Control in Asia Kuala Lumpur (1982),
the 14th International Leprosy
Congress Orlando US (1993),
the First International Conference on
Leprosy Elimination Hanoi (1994),
the International Symposium Leprosy and the
Family Cairo (1995),
the Second International Conference on
Leprosy Elimination New Delhi (1996),
the 15th International Leprosy
Congress, Beijing China (1998),
the 16th International Leprosy
Congress, Salvador Brazil (2002).
I was temporary advisor in Myanmar (1993)
and a member of the WHO Leprosy Elimination Advisory Group LEAG (1995-1998).
I was recruited for WHO as a short term consultant for the Kingdom
of Buthan (1997),
the Philippines (1998) and in Indonesia
(1999).
In 2000 I worked for NLR helping to produce
a Leprosy CD ROM in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust London. There are 10 tutorials
on the CD ROM which I translated into the Indonesian language.
Visiting the leprosaria / leprosy
settlements / leprosy colony in Indonesia.
It was truly an honour for me, when I reached
the age of retirement, that NLR offered me the opportunity to conduct an inventory
of the Leprosy Settlements / Colonies in Indonesia. This allowed me to physically meet and
interview people affected by leprosy from all over Indonesia.
Jakarta, May 7, 2013
