Description: The Global Appeal is an annual message to spread awareness and call for an end to the unwarranted discrimination that persons affected by leprosy continue to face. Initiated in 2006 by Yohei Sasakawa, the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, the appeal is issued every January to coincide with World Leprosy Day.Each year it receives the support of influential partners from different fields to build solidarity and ensure that its message reaches far and wide.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a communicable disease that can be cured with drugs that are available free of charge. But while drugs can cure the disease, they alone cannot erase the social stigma and prejudice that are a legacy of centuries of myths and misunderstandings about leprosy.
The Global Appeal is an annual message to spread awareness and call for an end to the unwarranted discrimination that persons affected by leprosy continue to face. Initiated in 2006 by Yohei Sasakawa, the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, the appeal is issued every January to coincide with World Leprosy Day.
Each year it receives the support of influential partners from different fields to build solidarity and ensure that its message reaches far and wide.