New Book Reflects on My Work as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination
Last November, a new book was published that reflects on my years as an ambassador for the elimination of leprosy (Hansen’s disease).
The project was conceived to mark the 20th anniversary of my first appointment, in 2001, as the WHO Special Ambassador to the Global Alliance for Elimination of Leprosy (GAEL), and subsequently as the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.
Dr. Shigeki Sakamoto, Professor Emeritus of International Law at Kobe University and a former member of the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council, and Dr. Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director of the Sasakawa Health Foundation, took on the task of compiling and editing a 248-page volume that considers my quest for a world without leprosy and the stigma and discrimination it causes.
Published in English by London-based C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., A Global Impact: Reflections on the Work of Yohei Sasakawa, the WHO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, consists of a foreword by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and seven chapters by six contributors, including Dr. Sakamoto and Dr. Nanri.
“Leprosy has been a source of suffering for so long that it is perhaps difficult to imagine a world without it. But it is an attainable goal, and one that is coming closer, thanks to the dedication of people such as Mr. Yohei Sasakawa,” Dr. Tedros writes in the foreword.
Each chapter aims to identify my methods and contributions in order to extract lessons and models with relevance for fighting other infectious diseases and actualizing the “leave no one behind” principle of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Themes addressed include public health, human rights, empowerment of the people affected by the disease (the primary stakeholders), public awareness, and the significance of a leader’s personal qualities and commitments.
I hope the book will be of interest to any individual or organization tackling a complex, global issue that requires efforts at all levels of society to solve.
Contributors (in chapter order):
Dr. Shigeki Sakamoto, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Kobe University and a former member of the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council.
Dr. Derek Lobo, former Regional Advisor, Leprosy and other Priority Diseases, World Health Organization, South-East Asia Regional Office.
Dr. Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director, Sasakawa Health Foundation.
Artur Custódio Moreira de Sousa, volunteer and former National Coordinator, Movement for the Reintegration of Persons Affected by Hansen’s Disease (MORHAN).
Tatsuya Tanami, Special Advisor and former Executive Director, The Nippon Foundation.
Dr. Marcos Virmond, former Director, Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima; former President, International Leprosy Association.
I hope you will read the book and come to understand the path that I, as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, and The Nippon Foundation have taken in our quest for a world free of leprosy and the discrimination it causes.
I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to C. Hurst & Co., Dr. Sakamoto, Dr. Nanri and the four other contributors, and the many others who helped to make this book possible.
For further information, please see the following: