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Visit of Mr. Yohei Sasakawa to Lucknow, India
18 – 20 October 2005
Mr Yohei Sasakawa,
WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Elimination of Leprosy, visited India from 18 to 20 October 2005,
his fifth visit to the country this year. As always, the purpose of his visit
was to create awareness about the disease, its cure and the social stigma
associated with the disease. The messages of the Goodwill Ambassador are
rather simple but they encompass the very essence of the National Leprosy
Eradication Programme i.e.
 Leprosy
is curable
Treatment
is available free
Social Discrimination has no place.
 Mr
Sasakawa participated in the fourth round of the
Media Partnership Workshops at Lucknow, one in a series of many
such workshops being organized to solicit the partnership of the media for
building awareness about the disease. Together with Sri Jayvir
Singh, Honorable Health Minister of Uttar Pradesh, he also released the Hindi
version of the book “Dignity Regained”, which is a collection of the life
stories of a few recovered leprosy patients and their struggle to reclaim their
lives and dignity.
The Goodwill Ambassador met the Chief Minister, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, and
discussed with him the progress made in the field of Leprosy Elimination in
UP. Mr Yadav reiterated his commitment to the programme and spoke about the need to increase the level
of awareness about the disease and change the public perception about
leprosy. Mr Sasakawa also met the various officials
associated with the Department of Health and the Leprosy Eradication
Programme. During his tour, he was accompanied by officials of WHO of the country and state level.
The accompanying photographs show the Goodwill Ambassador
releasing the book “Dignity Regained” along with Shri
Jayvir Singh, Honorable Health Minister of Uttar
Pradesh, and Dr P.K. Gopal, President of IDEA
India. The second photo shows him participating in the workshop. He is
accompanied by Dr S D Gokhale, President of the
International Leprosy Union; Mr Siddharth Behura, Principal Secretary (Health), and Ms Leena Johri, Special Secretary
(Health), Government of UP.
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