Global Appeal 2023 to End Stigma and Discrimination against Persons Affected by Leprosy was endorsed by the organizers and participants of International Symposium at the Vatican on Hansen’s Disease titled “Leave No One Behind”.

The symposium was organized by Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative together with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, French Raoul Follereau Fondation and Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau, and took place on January 23 and 24, 2023, at the Auditorium "P.Agostino Trape" Patristic Institute Augustinianum.

The symposium was a follow-up to the International Symposium titled “Towards Holistic Care for People with Hansen’s Disease, Respectful of Their Dignity” in 2016 at the same venue.

Global Appeal 2023, the 18th appeal in the series, called on us to recognize that all human beings are brothers and sisters, equal in dignity, and that each of us must play our part in realizing a society in which no one is left behind.

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International Symposium at the Vatican
on Hansen’s Disease “Leave No One Behind “ and
GLOBAL APPEAL 2023

Brochure　>
Report　>

Message by His Holiness Pope Francis

Greetings from Organizers

  • Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, F.M.A.

    Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Holy See

  • Dr. Pierre-Yves Thiebault

    President of French Raoul Follereau Fondation

  • Mr. Antonio Lissoni

    President of AIFO

  • Mr. Yohei Sasakawa

    Chairman of The Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination

Messages from Dignitaries

  • Mr. Francisco Faustino Pinto

    National Vice-Coordinator of Morhan, Brazil

  • H.E. Dr. Michael Mann

    Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

  • Mr. Tim Hughes

    Deputy Executive Director of the International Bar Association

  • Prof. Margareth Hagen

    Rector of the University of Bergen, Norway

  • Mr. Volker Türk

    United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

  • Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

    Director-General of WHO

Launch of the Global Appeal

Theme: Toward Zero Leprosy

Keynote Speech: Addressing the Current Situation and Remaining Challenges in Leprosy, Six Years after the Adoption of "Conclusions and Recommendations"

・Dr. Ibrahima Socé Fall, Director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO

・Dr. Alice Cruz, UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members

Session 1: Zero Disease & Disability

Moderator:
Dr. Vivek Lal, Team Leader of Global Leprosy Programme, WHO

Panelist:

・Dr. Roch Christian Johnson, Medical Director of French Raoul Follereau Fondation

・Dr. Paul Saunderson, Technical Advisor of American Leprosy Missions

・Ms. Arielle Cavaliero, Global Business Director of Leprosy Global Health Program at Novartis

・Dr. Anil Kumar, Additional Secretary General, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India

・Dr. Benedict Quao, Programme Manager of the National Leprosy Control Programme, Ghana

・Ms. Lucrecia Vasquez Acevedo, President of Felehansen, Colombia

Session 2: Zero discrimination

Moderator:
Dr. Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director of Sasakawa Health Foundation/ Sasakawa Leprosy Initiative

Panelists:

・Mr. Brent Morgan, International Director of The Leprosy Mission International and President of ILEP

・Mr. Gaurab Sen, CEO of Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation

・Dr. Margarida Cristiana Napoleão Rocha, Technologist at the Ministry of Health, Brazil

・Dr. Tanzina Islam, Deputy Program Manager of the National Leprosy Program, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh

・Mr. Tesfaye Tadesse, Managing Director of Ethiopian National Association of Persons Affected by Leprosy (ENAPAL), Ethiopia

・Mr. Al Kadri, Chairman of PerMaTa Indonesia

Theme: Toward Realizing a Society in Which No One Is Left Behind

Keynote Speech: What has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socially vulnerable, especially on those who are with disabilities?

Dr. P. Narasimha Rao, President of the International Leprosy Association and Indian Association of Leprologists

Testimony：

Moderator:
Mr. Amar Timalsina, Executive Director of IDEA Nepal

・Ms. Dimby and Ms. Soavina, Persons affected by Hansen's disease, Madagascar

・Mr. Rajni Kant Singh, State Coordinator for Bihar Operations, LEPRA Society, India

・Ms. Paule Helena Biaka, A person affected by buruli ulcer, Cote d'ivoire

・Mr. Juan Alberto López Padilla, A person affected by leishmaniasis, Colombia

・Mr. Sarang Gayadhane, Secretary of Association of People Affected by Leprosy (APAL), India

・Ms. Patrícia Gonçalves Soares, Coordinator of the Department of Policies for Women, Morhan, Brazil

Best Practices with special attention to the roles of religious organizations

Moderator:
Mr. Patrice Simonnet, Director General of AIFO

Speakers:

・Mr. Thierry zen Ruffinen, President of Fondation CIOMAL de l'Ordre de Malte

・Sr. Sabine Ramasinoro, Head of Marana Centre, Madagascar

・Dr. Jose Manikkathan, Director of AIFO India

・Sr. Bawani Chelliah, Order of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Sri Lanka

・Sr. Gladis Estela Llano Uribe, Director of Villa Bernarda Foundation, Colombia

Recommendations and suggestions on how to move forward conclusions
and recommendations adopted in 2016

Session 1: Perspectives of key actors from the Global Leprosy Community

Moderator:
Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, Secretary General of International Catholic Migration Commission

・Dr. Vivek Lal, Team Leader of Global Leprosy Programme, WHO

・Dr. Alice Cruz, UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members

・Dr. Margarida Cristiana Napoleão Rocha, Technologist at the Ministry of Health, Brazil

・Dr. Benedict Quao, Programme Manager of the National Leprosy Control Programme, Ghana

・Mr. Geoff Warne, CEO of ILEP

・Mr. Bill Simmons, CEO of American Leprosy Missions and Chair of Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy (GPZL)

・Dr. P. Narasimha Rao, President of the International Leprosy Association and Indian Association of Leprologists

・Ms. Arielle Cavaliero, Global Business Director of Leprosy Global Health Program at Novartis

・Ms. Letícia Cezar da Frota, Miss World Brazil 2022

・Ms. Maya Ranavare, President of Association of People Affected by Leprosy (APAL), India and the representative of the 2nd Global Forum of People's Organizations on Hansen's Disease

Session 2: Perspectives of the Organizers

Moderator:
Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, Secretary General of International Catholic Migration Commission

・Mr. Patrice Simonnet, Director General of AIFO

・Mr. Oleg Ouss, CEO of French Raoul Follereau Fondation

・Dr. Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director of Sasakawa Health Foundation/ Sasakawa Leprosy Initiative

・Mons. Charles Namugera, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Holy See

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Dr. G.H. Armauer Hansen’s discovery of the bacillus that causes leprosy.Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is now a curable disease.With early detection and treatment, disability associated with leprosy can be prevented.Multidrug therapy, the cure for leprosy, is available free of charge throughout the world.But drugs alone are not enough to overcome social and economic discrimination.To complete the healing process, we must cultivate the human family’s innate vocation to fraternity and recognize that all human beings are brothers and sisters, equal in dignity.Today, as the 70th World Leprosy Day, established by Raoul Follereau in 1954, approaches,we stand with persons affected by Hansen’s disease.We join them in working for a world free from the stigma associated with the disease and for an end to social injustice.Let all of us play our part in realizing an inclusive society in which no one is left behind.Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39)This year marks the 150th anniversary of Dr. G.H. Armauer Hansen’s discovery of the bacillus that causes leprosy.Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is now a curable disease.With early detection and treatment, disability associated with leprosy can be prevented.Multidrug therapy, the cure for leprosy, is available free of charge throughout the world.But drugs alone are not enough to overcome social and economic discrimination.To complete the healing process, we must cultivate the human family’s innate vocation to fraternity and recognize that all human beings are brothers and sisters, equal in dignity.Today, as the 70th World Leprosy Day, established by Raoul Follereau in 1954, approaches,we stand with persons affected by Hansen’s disease.We join them in working for a world free from the stigma associated with the disease and for an end to social injustice.Let all of us play our part in realizing an inclusive society in which no one is left behind.Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39)

Declaration and Signature (PDF)　>