Sasakawa Leprosy Initiative to host programmes on World Leprosy Day 2021
Webinars, photo and video contest will be organised
With the approach of World Leprosy Day on January 31, 2021, Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative has created many opportunities to amplify the voices of persons affected by leprosy and highlight the issues they face.
It is hosting a series of webinars covering medical, social and historical aspects of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, as well as organising a photo and video contest for persons affected by leprosy on the theme of work.
The focal point will be the launch online of the 16th Global Appeal to end stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy on World Leprosy Day on the last Sunday in January. This year’s appeal is being endorsed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which promotes and defends the rights of workers worldwide, and focuses on the right to work.
In India, which sees the highest number of cases of the disease in the world, the initiative has jointly produced a pictorial flipchart on leprosy with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and WHO India. The flipchart, designed to promote early detection and treatment, is being distributed to community health workers over the next two years in six high-endemic states.
