I would like to share with you some of the photographs taken during my visit to Norway between September 20 and 25, 2022, as chairman of The Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination.
I visited Bergen, the country’s second largest city, where Dr. Gerhard Armauer Hansen discovered in 1873 Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy. Today, the disease is also known as Hansen’s disease.
During my first visit to the city in 10 years, I held a series of meetings to lay the groundwork for holding an international conference there in June 2023 to mark the 150th anniversary of Dr. Hansen’s breakthrough discovery.
[September 21, Bergen, Norway]
At the University Museum of Bergen, I am given an explanation about letters written by Dr. Gerhard Armauer Hansen and other valuable documents.
In front of the bust of Dr. Gerhard Armauer Hansen (July 29, 1841–February 12,1912), the Norwegian physician remembered for his identification in 1873 of Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy. Today the disease is also known as known as Hansen’s disease.
Luncheon meeting with Professor Margreth Hagen (third from right), Rector of the University of Bergen. I asked for the university’s cooperation in organizing an international conference the Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative (SLI) plans to hold in June 2023 to mark the 150th anniversary of Dr. Hansen’s discovery of Mycobacterium leprae. This is in line with my agreement with WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to wage a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” campaign globally to send the message that leprosy must not be overlooked even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. SLI is a strategic alliance between the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, The Nippon Foundation and the Sasakawa Health Foundation for achieving a world without leprosy and stigma and discrimination associated with the disease.
Looking at the list of those affected by leprosy in Norway in the Armauer Hansen Commemorative Rooms. Dr. Hansen made his historic discovery of Mycobacterium leprae in this facility, which opened in 1857 for accommodating 280 leprosy patients.
Listening to an explanation on the comparison between the number of those affected by leprosy in 1856 and 1920.
Bergen’s Leprosy Museum. It is located in the former St. George’s Hospital, the city’s oldest leprosy hospital.
With curators of the Leprosy Museum.
Dinner with Professor Margreth Hagen (third from right), Rector of the University of Bergen, at Rosenkrantz Tower, which was built in the 13th century. I was told this was the first dinner held in this building in 20 years. I accepted her invitation to attend an international conference that the university will host in February 2023 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Dr. Hansen’s discovery of Mycobacterium leprae.
