Pathgate News
Update: More Funds Needed for Hepatitis B Vaccination Programme in India
Thank you for all the support received to the fund appeal for Namdroling Monastery’s Hepatitis B Vaccination Programme. Nearly £7,000 has been raised, but the appeal is still vastly short of the target, with over £23,000 still needed to save lives by making this Vaccination Programme possible.
Hepatitis B is a highly infectious inflammatory disease of the liver. Symptoms of mild fever, nausea/vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain typically last for six months, but in chronic cases carriers have progressive liver disease which can cause cirrhosis and cancers of the liver. India is home to an estimated 36 million chronic cases, 11% of the world’s total and has between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths from hepatocellular carcinoma or cirrhosis each year. Unlike the developed world, where transmission is often associated with unsafe sex and injected drug use, in India the infection spreads through crowded living conditions and poor hygiene, contaminated blood transfusions, medical and dental treatments, and the sharing of toothbrushes, razors and even towels. Hepatitis B is 50 – 100 times more infectious that HIV. It is a major public health problem in India, so it is important that we support this vaccination programme. Where the hepatitis B vaccination is administered, cases of the disease are reduced by more than 95%.
The planned Vaccination Programme, requested by Hospital Administrators at Tsepal Tobkyed Hospital, will protect over 4000 monks and nuns at Namdroling Monastery in India. The cost of the programme is estimated to be just over 3 million Indian Rupees which is about £30,000. Of this, nearly £7,000 has already been raised through the generous support of students and friends of Pathgate Institute, but over £23,000 is still needed to buy the vaccines that will protect the lives of over 4000 monks and nuns at Namdroling Monastery.
If you would like play an active part in supporting this Vaccination Programme, please send a payment through Paypal or by transfer to the Pathgate bank account. Please click on ‘Make an Offering’ to donate funds.