2023-04-26 09:29:41
published
HealthAid organization from Luxembourg fights suffering of people worldwide
LUXEMBOURG / WORLD – The researcher Temmy Sunyoto reports on her humanitarian aid work in countries affected by disasters and epidemics, which she provides with the Luxembourg-based organization “Doctors Without Borders”.
Temmy Sunyoto has been working for LuxOR – a decentralized department of the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders – since 2020.
Francesco Zizola/Noor
Temmy Sunyoto has been a researcher at LuxOR since 2020 with the official title of Senior Operational Research Advisor. LuxOR is a decentralized division of the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (ÄoG), based in Luxembourg and Brussels, which conducts research projects in support of humanitarian and medical interventions around the world.
Temmy is Indonesian but has been putting her experience at the service of Luxembourg and international collaboration with other colleagues working in Canada, Lebanon and locally for the past three years. She took a few minutes to The essential to tell about their everyday life.
Why did you choose this path?
I started humanitarian work very early after my medical studies, that was more than 15 years ago. I joined Doctors Without Borders (ÄoG) in Indonesia when the country had just been hit by multiple natural disasters, such as the Aceh tsunami (December 2004 ed.), earthquakes and floods. I started accompanying AoG to different countries and worked treating diseases in Somalia and India, food crises in Ethiopia and Sudan and provided primary health care in places where only AoG operated like South Sudan.
How did you come to the LuxOR unit in Luxembourg?
After working on the projects for many years, I realized that it is important that ÄoG also regularly analyzes the assignments in order to improve them. Scientific knowledge and existing guidelines are not always compatible with what we ultimately find on the ground. We are often confronted with a lack of effective tools for medical treatments. There are no tools to diagnose, vaccinate or treat… So I continued my studies in public health, earned my PhD and gained new skills as a researcher.
The connection to humanitarian work was obvious…
I have always wanted to apply these skills in my humanitarian work so that they can benefit patients. So I returned to work for AoG, no longer on the frontline, but to support the frontline with operational research.
“Ultimately, at ÄoG we do research to better care for the health of the people who are most disadvantaged in this respect,” says Temmy Sunyoto.
What is special about LuxOR?
Any research we conduct is designed to have a direct impact, either on the practice of AoG or on the adjustment of healthcare policies. Ultimately, at ÄoG, we conduct research to better care for the health of those most disadvantaged in this regard.
What does your typical working day look like?
Project visits, providing an overview of local challenges, conducting studies, managing research partners… My daily routine can vary. When I traveled to Abakaliki, Nigeria, I joined the medical team on the tour. During this time, I discussed the details of the research, made sure the lab and all the necessary tools were in place, or met with our local partners. In Bangladesh, in the Rohingya refugee camp of Cox Bazar, where there is still a scabies outbreak as of early 2022, I spent my morning first assisting the data and research team at the health center in collecting patient data, and then with our household health promotion team visited. In the afternoon, the results were analyzed or reports were written. But there were also regular activities to liven up the everyday life of the team a bit, such as an evening walk or sports. And now and then a party!
What has stayed with you the most since the beginning of your missions?
I remember my patients suffering from the deadly disease kala azar or visceral leishmaniasis in Huddur, Somalia, for whom we had only outdated medicines that could only be administered by injection. I remember the crying of the 30 children who were taken in by the medical service, all under the age of five. Because no company was willing to invest in advancing this treatment for very poor patients, I realized that unfortunately there are many ailments or diseases that are forgotten or neglected for commercial and/or political reasons.
Tell us about your current work on Lassa fever. How is this a major health challenge?
Lassa fever is caused by the Lassa virus, which, similar to Ebola, can cause profuse bleeding. Transmission occurs through contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or feces. It is also transmitted from person to person via bodily fluids. Between 100,000 and 300,000 cases are reported annually in some parts of West Africa. The disease is classified by the WHO as a priority, but patients are often late and die from complications.
“We want to better understand the mental health and psychosocial support of the patients at our site in Abakaliki, South West Nigeria”.
Francesco Zizola/Noor
Do you want your research to influence diagnostics and care?
Since there is no vaccine and current treatments are less effective, it is very important that the diagnosis is made correctly and quickly. The standard PCR test is complex and often unavailable in areas where Lassa fever is common. ÄoG therefore started a study at the end of 2021 to evaluate a new rapid diagnostic test that would represent a real revolution. At the same time, we are conducting collaborative research to better monitor symptoms and also plan to better understand the mental health and psychosocial support of patients at our Abakaliki site in south-west Nigeria.
What is the importance of Luxembourg today in the international health sector?
In order to provide operational research of ÄoG, the LuxOR entity of ÄoG in Luxembourg systematically publishes its studies in peer-reviewed scientific journals and regularly presents at international conferences. I think that in a way this makes Luxembourg a center of excellence for operational research, at least that’s what we aim for.
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