Uniting for Zero Leprosy in Manila

By Sasakawa Health Foundation - The Nippon FoundationMANILA, PHILIPPINES, Sep 7 2019 (IPS-Partners) World Health Organization’s (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and recipient of the 2019 Order of the Rising Sun as well as the 2018 Gandhi Peace Prize, Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, is in the Philippines to call on academics, medical stakeholders and those affected by the disease to unite towards “Zero Leprosy”.  Mr. Sasakawa, chairperson of The Nippon Foundation (TNF) – one of Japan’s largest private organisations – is attending two key global conferences on the disease being held in Manila this week. The first is the Global Forum of People’s Organizations on Hansen’s Disease, which is being held September 7 to 10, and the 20th International Leprosy Congress (ILC), from September 11 to 13. Mr. Sasakawa will also call on experts to continue working on discovering the causes of transmission of the disease but to also continue developing vaccines, and create prosthetics and orthotics for those with Hansen’s disease. “With globalization, human mobility and migration are increasing. Leprosy remains a global disease, even though the number of medical specialists are decreasing rapidly world-wide,” Mr Sasakawa said. People with Hansen’s disease face severe social stigma and widespread discrimination about the disease and organizations representing them want a a greater voice in creating solutions. For the last 40 years Mr. Sasakawa has been a l...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Health Source Type: news