【Photo Diary】 (1) Visit to India
Published on March 27, 2025
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I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my visit to India from January 29 to February 3, 2025, in my capacity as chairman of The Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.
Flying from Delhi to Bhubaneshwar in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, I participated in hosting the Global Appeal 2025 to End Stigma and Discrimination against Persons Affected by Leprosy.
In addition to speaking at the event, I listened to leaders of the Association of People Affected by Leprosy (APAL) who had come from all over the country to represent their communities in various states. I also met with Odisha governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati and visited four nearby colonies and a hospital.
India has the highest number of leprosy cases in the world with some 130,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Odisha one of the high-burden states for the disease.
[January 29, Delhi, India]
[January 30, Bhubaneswar, Odisha State, India]
The launch, co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative, brought together persons affected by leprosy from many Indian states, representatives of the Odisha Ministry of Health, and several other experts and advocates for leprosy elimination. This was the 20th Global Appeal since the first was launched in 2006, also in India.
The annual appeal, which I initiated in 2006, is issued on or near World Leprosy Day, which falls on the last Sunday in January. In India, Anti-Leprosy Day is marked each year on January 30, the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Mr. Mahaling told the event: “The Indian government, as well as the Odisha government, has a roadmap to eradicate leprosy by 2030. Leprosy is curable. It is inspiring to see people who were affected by leprosy championing the cause and becoming advocates. We are working together with the Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative for leprosy elimination in Odisha.”
Odisha is a highly endemic area for leprosy. I was pleased that for the first time in the Global Appeal’s 20-year history, we were able to launch it from a location on the front line of the fight against the disease.
Over the years, several Nobel Peace Prize laureates and other influential leaders have endorsed the call to end leprosy-related stigma and discrimination. I also praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his commitment to achieving the ambitious goal of a leprosy-free India by 2030.
“If we join hands and combine our efforts, the vision of a leprosy-free world is not an impossible dream－together, we can make it possible,” I said.
Three teenage girls were selected to read aloud this year’s Global Appeal from the stage.
Noting that there are 99 leprosy colonies in Odisha, I told them: “We are working tenaciously to eradicate leprosy and stigma and discrimination associated with it so that there will need to be no colonies in the state.”
(To be continued)
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