I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my visit to India between November 3 and 10, 2022, as chairman of The Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.
[November 5, Ranchi, India]
Hoping to raise people’s awareness of our fight against leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease.
This doorman’s mustache was so impressive that I asked to have my photo taken with him.
Speaking to a meeting of SAHIYA voluntary nurses to thank them for their noble work to promote early detection of leprosy.
I handed SAHIYA voluntary nurses 310,000 flip charts for distribution in six Indian states with pockets of high leprosy endemicity to educate people on early detection of the disease. Although India has achieved the goal of eliminating leprosy as a public health problem at the national level (defined by WHO as a reduction in the prevalence rate to below one case per 10,000 population), it continues to account for around 60% of new cases reported globally each year.
From left, Ms. Maya Ranavare (left), president of the Association of People Affected by Leprosy (APAL); Mr. Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand State, the author, and Mr. Mohammad Jainauddin, APAL state leader for Jharkhand.
