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Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, Preseident of The
Nippon Foundation and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination,
visited West Bengal and Tamil Nadu during the
period 12-17 May 2005, accompanied by officers of the WHO India Office to
attend the National Consultation on the Advocacy Strategy and Role of Media
in Elimination of Leprosy in Kolkata and the South
Regional Conference on Leprosy in Chennai.
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Mr. Yohei Sasakawa,
President of the Nippon Foundation
Dr. S. J. Habayeb, WHO Representative to India
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The National Consultation on Advocacy Strategy and
Role of Media in Elimination of Leprosy and the South Regional Conference on
Leprosy were attended by the Health Minister, health Secretary, and National
Program Manager from Government of India, senior officials of the Central and
State Governments, representatives from other sectors, NGOs, media and the
Confederation of Indian Industries. A number of persons who have had leprosy
shared their personal experiences.
Mr. Sasakawa, who has
dedicated a substantial amount of resources and time to leprosy elimination,
stressed that one of his main goals is to combine technical and humanitarian
aspects. He called for addressing both physical affliction and social
injustice while assuring human dignity. He called for dealing with leprosy
care as a human right issue.
The meeting called for more involvement of the media
to disseminate information about leprosy, its cause, treatment and cure. The
meetings also recommended that the media should contribute to demystify
leprosy. All constituents of the society should join hands to prevent leprosy
from leading to destitution.
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