Created in 1958, the CIOMAL Foundation (International Campaign of the Order of Malta against Leprosy) aims to fight against leprosy and all the exclusions linked to this disease. Although leprosy can be cured, it still infects more than 200'000 people every year. Of the more than 2'800'000 people affected today, one out of ten victims is a child under the age of 14.

Because of the stigma it leaves behind, leprosy leads to physical and social exclusion, particularly in schools and the workplace. These multiple rejections constitute serious violations of the fundamental rights of persons affected by leprosy. It is for all these reasons that the CIOMAL Foundation finances and manages places where prevention, medical care and social rehabilitation are carried out in agreement with the governments of the countries concerned.

The Order of Malta is involved in many countries, in Asia, Africa and South America, through its National Associations, its Grand Priories and its relief work Malteser International.

The CIOMAL Foundation manages a large-scale program in Cambodia to fight leprosy. In this program, priority is given to early detection and rehabilitation of patients, in order to avoid potentially irreversible after-effects. CIOMAL is also dedicated to the rehabilitation of patients at the Kien Khleang center in Phnom Penh, where they receive individualized physiotherapy and adapted prostheses or orthoses.

Thanks to the efforts undertaken by the CIOMAL Foundation and its local partners, Cambodia is no longer considered a priority in the fight against leprosy since the number of new cases per year does not exceed 100, which represents less than 1% of the world total of new leprosy cases each year. These remarkable results have invited the Foundation Board to work on a strategic reorientation to study other geographical areas where CIOMAL could help leprosy victims, such as Brazil, a country with approximately 28,000 new cases each year, representing more than 14% of the annual new cases of leprosy.

The CIOMAL Foundation also assists former patients in their efforts to reintegrate into their community. The social and economic dimension, through vocational training and the development of micro-economic activities, is an integral part of the programs set up by the CIOMAL Foundation.

Originally known as the Order of Malta's International Committee against Leprosy - created in Geneva in 1958 following the International Conference for the Defense and Social Rehabilitation of Lepers, organized by the Grand Magistry of the Sovereign and Hospitaller Order of Malta - CIOMAL became the CIOMAL Foundation (the Order of Malta's International Campaign against Leprosy) on 4 April 1999.

CIOMAL has its headquarters in Geneva