Project O.S.C.A.R.

Health care is particularly problematic for the resettlers coming from the bolivian highlands. They live in a new climate with for them completely unknown diseases. O.S.C.A.R. therefore provides educational courses for the population to broaden the knowledge about hygiene, nutrition and natural remedies in this region. Especially woman, mothers and schoolchildren are included in this program.

A special difficulty in Alto Beni is prevalence of leishmaniasis. In the localities surrounding the project camp, 35% of the people have been infected at least once. The disease is transmitted similarly to malaria, via mosquitoes and has different forms that appear as cutaneous versions with sores at the bite site which take months to heal or as mucocutaneous form, which involves severe damage of nose and mouth. The most serious form is the visceral one which is lethal if left untreated. Unfortunately, immunization against leishmaniasis does not exist.

The therapy is relatively expensive: one treatment with the drug Miltefosine costs about 250$. As in most cases several members of a family are affected at the same time, this is a financial burden most families can not cope with. At the moment, the project O.S.C.A.R. pays the cost and the patients pay a rather nominal amount of 20$.

In cooperation with the university of La Paz, O.S.C.A.R. works on a clinical trial, testing a new potential drug EVANTA, that is extracted from a plant that grows in the region. Such a drug could be produced at very low costs, providing a long-term solution for the treatment of leishmaniasis.