The Copeland Family Trust Fund

Koraput Care Centre continuing to achieve the unbelievable!

Barry Copeland  13th July 2026

​​​

The Centre’s main aim remains to reach over 3,000 people affected by leprosy, both existing and new cases. Once again, this goal has been achieved; an astonishing feat given the total budget of just over £13,000!

​

The Centre continues to operate at full capacity and indeed at times beyond, given the budget available. Its annual targets for 2025/26 were much the same as for previous years and once again most of these targets were largely achieved or exceeded.

​

Interestingly though, 481 people (target 500) attended the Out-Patient Department in this period, compared to 527 in the previous year. In a similar vein, total In-Patient Admissions numbered 154 this year (target 180), compared to 191 last year. 

It should be noted however that the slightly reduced numbers attending the OPD clinics and for IPD treatment are more than offset by greater numbers being treated in the local communities, with more smears collected and self-care measures provided externally. This of course may just be a variation for this particular year, but hopefully it shows that the policy aim of early identification and treatment is starting to bear fruit.

​

However the average stay per patient rose to 15 days this year, as opposed to 14 last year and 13 days in 2023/24. There may be slightly less people needing operations, but the cases are becoming more serious and complicated when they do arise. The bed occupancy rate for the year remained incredibly high at 140.5% (148.7% in 2024/25), achieved by judicious use of camp beds and spare rooms when needed. Probably a greater bed capacity is needed, but this is unlikely to happen in the current difficult financial climate for most overseas charities.

These numbers really illustrate just how essential the Centre continues to be, given how many people it has served over the last year for a whole range of different issues associated with leprosy. Koraput is in a remote, rural area of India and the Centre remains an amazing example of how many people can be helped with a relatively small amount of money, if invested properly. It is a perfect example of how effective small charities and overseas aid can be.

​

It should also be noted that in many service areas the Centre is continuing to treat more cases than its annual target, with subsequent  budgetary implications. There was a slight overspend again, hardly surprising given that the funding remained unchanged from the previous 12 months. The budget for the 2026/27 financial year has remained the same at Indian Rupees (INR)1,458,000 so things are likely to be tight again. This obviously means a cut in real terms, given that the current inflation rate in India is somewhere around 8%.

​

The Centre’s constant ability to make the most out of what it has no doubt remains exemplary, but I continue to wonder if/when patient care will be eventually affected by these decreasing resources if more funds aren’t forthcoming. There are only so many ‘efficiency savings’ that can be made. ​There continues to be some small, good news in this area though. The £:INR exchange rate is still improving in the UK’s favour, having been around the level of 1:100 for many years. The budget figures for 2026/27 are based on a rate of 1:112, but the current figure is 1:128. This upward trend won’t last for ever, but for now the value of funds arriving from the UK (including ours) is nearly 15% higher.​

​

The annual Trustees Meeting isn’t scheduled until late July, so I proposed that an immediate donation of £8300 be made to LEPRA Health in Action, which happened in late May. At current exchange rates that sum equates to over 70% of the projected budget for this year, the biggest proportion that we have ever covered.

In just over 13 years of existence we have thus donated around £84,000 to Koraput

​

THANK YOU ALL!

​