A photo from Pearl Gan, Photographer In Residence for OUCRU, was selected for The Lancet Highlights 2018. The picture shows Senior Nurse Shikh Rema changing the dressing for Jabeda Begom, a 65-year-old woman with leprosy, at the Jalchatra Hospital in Bangladesh. Treatment of leprosy is a lengthy process, but thanks to dedicated staff, patients are given the care and attention they need.
View winning photos in The Lancet
“My goal is to help in raising awareness of world issues around me. This leprosy photo published in the Lancet was taken in Jalchatra hospital in Bangladesh. I had encountered many problems in this Dhaka trip. It was a life-altering experience for me. I was lucky to have escaped student riots which had frozen the city of Dhaka. I was caught in the unrest and encountered streets being locked down; was holed up for hours, waiting to be saved. Another time, I was in a trapped in a car while hundreds of students marched down the street with big weapons in their hands. I really had to thank my lucky star for escaping unscathed.
Political unrest was not something we encountered everyday in our life. But to have good memories coming out from a bad experience, that itself definitely deserved a toast. I will never take life for granted after this trip. It is going to take a while to recover from this traumatic trip but the winning photograph is definitely a recognition of my work and I sincerely thanked Professor Kevin Baird and Dr Mary Chambers for believing in me. ”
Find out more
Pearl Gan: photographer in residency
Pearl Gan honoured in Swiss malaria photo contest
Pearl Gan’s article in the Lancet: Picturing health: Making malaria visible in the Asia Pacific