Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) Initiative

The Initiative team and Felehansen, the People's Organization on Hansen's Disease in Colombia, have just finished interviews to select recipients for the Sasakawa Young Scholar Programme. Our finalists proudly posed for a commemorative photo to celebrate this milestone. From now on, they'll dedicate themselves to developing their skills and becoming leaders of the next generation to achieve a world without leprosy. Congratulations to all future leaders! #DontForgetHansensDisease #LeaveNoOneBehind #towardsaleprosyfreeworld Felehansen Colombia YDTI

2nd Miss Supranational Forum on Hansen’s disease👑 Since last year, we have been fortunate enough to have the support and collaboration of Miss Supranational to raise awareness about Hansen’s disease and eliminate stigma and discrimination against persons affected by the disease. Today we held the 2nd Miss Supranational Forum on Hansen’s disease in the presence of and with the active participation of Miss Supranational Creative Director, Mr. Andre Sleigh; Miss Supranational 2023, Miss Andrea Aguilera; and participants of 2024 contest. Thank you all for your enthusiasm to take concrete action to support persons affected by Hansen’s disease. We are looking forward very much to working with you to spread awareness and advocate for the rights of persons affected! ☺️🫶 @misssupranational

She put her heart and soul into being a magnificent #misssupranational2023 Everywhere she went she touched hearts with her humility, kindness and beautiful heart. She took her role as an ambassador for the @sasakawa_leprosy_initiative very seriously and did it beautifully. Now it is time for @andreaaguilerapa to come and share all of this with the #misssupranational2024 candidates. Andrea there will never be enough words to describe how much we love you and how proud we are of you. We can’t wait to welcome you to #malopolska tomorrow and to spend the next three weeks with you as our reigning queen! 🥲❤️❤️❤️

The Initiative is thrilled to announce the launch of our newest challenge: the Young Scholars Program. We are supporting the next generation of leaders in the leprosy community, working hand-in-hand to achieve a world without leprosy. Today, we are proud to introduce our first scholarship recipients from Indonesia. Together, let's inspire and empower young minds to make a difference. Congratulations! #towatdsaleprosyfreeworld #DontForgetLeprosy #DontForgetHansensDisease

WHO Goodwill Ambassador for leprosy elimination, Yohei Sasakawa, attended the award ceremony for the Sasakawa Health Award, established by his father. He gave a congratulatory speech to the winner, Dr. Doreen Ramogola-Masire from Botswana. #WHA77 #towardsaleprosyfreeworld #DontForgetLeprosy #DontForgetHansensDisease

As we near the end of the World Health Assembly, we had the opportunity to meet with Director General Dr. Tedros today for the first time since the Global Appeal 2024 in January. #towardsaleprosyfreeworld #WHA77 #GlobalHealth #HealthForAll

This year, we had the opportunity to meet many national representatives and ministers of health. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet with us. We will make the most of these valuable meetings and continue to build momentum for our work to eliminate leprosy. #towardsaleprosyfreeworld #dontforgetleprosy #dontforgethansensdisease

Exciting news from the Initiativa team in Geneva! We're gearing up for an impactful meeting with representatives from various Ministries of Health during the World Health Organization General Assembly. Stay tuned for updates on our discussions and initiatives. #towardsaleprosyfreeworld #DontForgetLeprosy #dontforgetHansensdisease

A brief introduction to Purple Hope Initiative Nigeria, a grassroots organization of women and children affected by Hansen’s disease in the southern part of Nigeria with over 600 members. The full article is now available. Click on the link in our profile for details. #leprosy #hansensdisease #dontforgetleprosy #dontforgethansensdisease

Legal practitioner Evarestus Lilibeth Nwakaego, the national coordinator of Purple Hope Initiative Nigeria, shares her wish list with the Leprosy Bulletin. The full article is now available. Click on the link in our profile for details. #leprosy #hansensdisease #dontforgetleprosy #dontforgethansensdisease

The Dalai Lama—Sasakawa Scholarship supports young people in India’s self-settled leprosy colonies. The Leprosy Bulletin profiles three recipients, showing how the scholarship has changed their lives and the lives of those around them. The full article is now available. Click on the link in our profile for details. #leprosy #hansensdisease #dontforgetleprosy #dontforgethansensdisease

Maintaining mental health is understood to have a direct effect on physical recovery of NTD patients. Lepra’s Chris Laing introduces “Mind to Heart”, a project in Bangladesh to strengthen emotional health in leprosy and lymphatic filariasis. The full article is now available. Click on the link in our profile for details. #leprosy #hansensdisease #dontforgetleprosy #dontforgethansensdisease