Damien Foundation India Trust

Damien Foundation India Trust is a non-profit organisation, established in 1992 that works primarily in the domain of Health, Employment, Research and Livelihoods. Its primary office is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

  • Bronze Certified 2023
  • 80G
  • 12A
  • CSR-1
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About

  • Headquarters

    Chennai, Tamil Nadu

  • Since

    1992

Damien Foundation India Trust (DFIT) is a non- profit organisation dedicated to Leprosy and TB Control Activities in India. DFIT provides Leprosy and Read moreTB services directly through its projects located in 7 States in the country. The organization initiated leprosy control activities in a South Indian village in 1955, expanded to TB control in 1998, and currently serves a population of 178 million across seven states. Damien Foundation's primary objective is to deliver quality health care to individuals affected by Leprosy or Tuberculosis and rehabilitate them medically and socially.


Issue

1)Leprosy Control Programme: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that affects both nerves and skin. Involvement of nerves and its damage leads to disabilities. One can prevent disabilities in leprosy through early diagnosis and complete treatment and timely management of nerve damage through medication, rest and physiotherapy. Damien Foundation has been involved in providing referral services for the diagnosis, treatment and management of complications through referral hospitals. Damien Foundation is facilitating early case detection through the engagement of civil society organizations in disseminating message in the community on early signs of leprosy and encourages patients to complete full course of treatment. Besides this Damien Foundation also facilitates an effective management of nerve damage to prevent disabilities. Disability Prevention and Medical Rehabilitation (DPMR) is a renewed strategy approach to manage persons affected by leprosy through general health system in an integrated health programme. The identified strategy was not implemented adequately due to lack priority and non-availability of expertise in the general health system. A small proportion of persons affected by leprosy develop lack of sensation and sweating in their hands and feet. Such persons may develop wounds in their hands and feet due to dryness and injuries who need to practice self-care. every day to prevent worsening of disabilities and further damage of tissues. Self care is a simple procedure which includes soaking, cleaning, application of oil to prevent dryness, dressing and physiotherapy. Damien Foundation is facilitating self care practice through training of health workers, community volunteers & family members. All types of deformities in leprosy can be corrected through surgery at early stages and with physiotherapy. The Occupational therapist train the patients to use their limbs effectively and safely in their day-to-day life. Reconstructive surgery facilities are available in DFIT hospitals. Patients eligible for surgery are selected and motivated by the team and also by general health staff. 2) TB Control Programme: Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis which mainly affects the lungs of the person. Tuberculosis bacteria spread through air from one person to another. When a person with lung TB cough, sneeze, or spits, he propels the TB germs into the air and a person just needs to inhale some of these germs to get infected. Tuberculosis is closely linked with poverty and under nutrition. Many patients cannot afford to have adequate food due to loss of income and catastrophic health expenditures. Damien Foundation provides nutritional support to poor and needy TB patients in the form of rice, wheat, cereals, egg, cooking oil etc. every month till completion of treatment. This is a small incentive which motivates the poor TB patients to adhere to treatment and complete the course of TB treatment. As part of the care after cure support to poor TB cured patients DFIT provides social rehabilitation to them in the form of petty shops, push carts and other forms of small business to have a sustainable income. These supports are provided to those who are not able to do hard jobs or those who have lost jobs due to the disease.


Action

At present Damien Foundation India Trust implements leprosy and TB control activities by supporting: 1. Damien Foundation India Trust manages three referral centres specializing in handling complications related to leprosy, with two of these centres also addressing complications related to TB. 2. Two reference laboratories strategically located in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar to strengthen drug-resistant TB control efforts. 3. Eighteen expert teams operating in 71 districts, focusing on preventing disability. 4. Rehabilitation home for elderly persons affected by leprosy with disabilities in Polambakkam, Tamil Nadu. 5. Persons affected by leprosy with disabilities primarily require medical and social rehabilitation. Damien Foundation India Trust has devised various strategies tailored to specific contexts, implementing medical rehabilitation by providing training to individuals with disabilities in home-based self-care. The foundation has also facilitated deformity correction surgeries (RCS) and chronic ulcer care through hospitalization. Family members, community volunteers and ASHA workers have undergone training to monitor self-care practices. Socio-economic rehabilitation services are provided through support for income-generating activities, housing construction and renovation, educational assistance and the provision of nutritional supplements.

Impact

1) Reduction of Grade II deformity among Leprosy affected. 2) Early Leprosy Case detection and Treatment initiation. 3) Leprosy Deformity Correction through Reconstructive Surgery. 4) Tuberculosis Diagnosis. 5) Leprosy and TB Treatment & Cure. 6) Economic empowerment by providing livelihood support for Leprosy and TB cured persons.

Programs

  • Damien Foundation Urban Leprosy & TB Centre (DFUL&TC)

    Damien Foundation Urban Leprosy & TB Centre (DFUL&TC), situated in the urban area of Nellore in the Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, operates directly under DFIT. The leprosy services of the project commenced in 1993, followed by the introduction of TB services in 1998. Following integration, the project continued its commitment to offering referral services for leprosy, including reconstructive surgeries. The state has officially acknowledged the centre for RCS, extending its coverage to four districts: Prakasam, Kadapa, Nellore and Chittoor. The centre houses a microscopy facility, catering to a population of 1,39,848 in Nellore urban, to provide essential TB control services.

  • Leprosy Disability Prevention and Medial Rehabilitation AND TB Control & Diagnosis

    Damien Foundation India Trust (DFIT) has been actively involved in reinforcing the leprosy control program in specific regions of Bihar since 1993, focusing on selected districts. Additionally, DFIT has been supporting the TB control program in these areas since 2003. The activities in these districts have been carried out with the support OF State. In the ongoing phase spanning from 2022 to 2026, the specific objective is to enhance accessibility to leprosy referral services for individuals affected by leprosy and to improve the initiation and adherence to treatment for those affected by Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (DRTB) in Bihar State, encompassing 28 districts for leprosy and 5 districts for DRTB.

  • Leprosy Disability Prevention and Medial Rehabilitation

    In collaboration with the State Health Society and the NLEP program, Damien Foundation India Trust (DFIT) has devised strategic initiatives to fortify the referral system in all the districts. The focus is on enhancing the technical proficiency of health personnel and establishing a robust referral network linking health facilities with referral centres within the districts. This aims to streamline the management of presumptive cases, address complications promptly, foster early diagnosis, prevent disabilities and facilitate home-based self-care along with deformity correction surgeries.

  • Margret Leprosy and TB Hospital and

    In 1999, Damien Foundation India Trust initiated leprosy control initiatives in Southwest Delhi, which was identified as one of the leprosy endemic districts in the Union Territory of Delhi. The National Leprosy Eradication Program (NLEP) was incorporated into the general health system in 2000. DFIT played a crucial role in offering technical support through a trained team, focusing on training, monitoring and supervising the Government staff in South West Delhi. Following the withdrawal of DTST in 2003, the project narrowed down its leprosy control activities to the diagnosis and management of leprosy cases through its referral hospital. Commenced its treatment services in 2002, initially establishing one TB unit in South West Delhi. Subsequently, in 2004, another TB unit was established in West Delhi, collectively covering a population of 12,39,442. The project has successfully set up 10 microscopy TB centres in urban slums in the districts.

Impact Metrics

  • Damien Foundation India Trust Leprosy & Tb Control Beneficiaries

    Program Name

    All Programs

    Year-wise Metrics
    • 2019-20 0
    • 2020-21 0
    • 2021-22 0
    • 2022-23 28801
  • 0

    Program Name

    0

    Year-wise Metrics

Leadership Team

  • N.R. Suresh

    Treasurer

  • Dr. M. Shivakumar

    Secretary - Member

  • Dr. Mannam Ebenezer

    Member

  • Dr. S. Raja Samuel

    Member

  • Dr. P. Krishnamurthy

    Chairman

  • Mrs. Radhika Santhanakrishnan

    Member

  • Mr. A.L. Sowmiyaji

    Member

Demographics & Structure

  • No. of Employees

    100+

M&E

  • Internal, External Assessors

    No

Policies

  • Ethics and Transparency Policies

    No

  • Formal CEO Oversight & Compensation Policy

    No

Political & Religious Declarations

  • On Affiliation if any

    No

  • On Deployment Bias if any

    No

Registration Details

  • PAN Card

    AAATD0200D

  • Registration ID

    213/1992

  • VO ID / Darpan ID

    TN/2017/0151205

  • 12A

    AAATD0200DE20217

  • 80G

    AAATD0200DF20215

  • FCRA

    Not Available

  • CSR Registration Number

    CSR00039353

Location

  • Headquarters

    No-14, Venugopal Avenue, Spur Tank Road, Chetpet, Chennai, 600031

    Directions
  • Offices in Cities

Other Details

  • Type & Sub Type

    Non-profit
    Trust

Financial Details

 Income / Expenses
  • 2021-22

    Income
    Rs.0
    Expenses
    Rs.0
    Admin Expenses
    Rs.0
    Program Expenses
    Rs.0
    Tip: Click on any value above to exclude it.
  • 2022-23

    Income
    Rs.138,081,404
    Expenses
    Rs.130,866,871
    Admin Expenses
    Rs.19,312,792
    Program Expenses
    Rs.111,554,079
    Tip: Click on any value above to exclude it.