Leprosy Ambassador targets discrimination against lepers

Cape Coast, March 9, GNA - Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, World Health Organization (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador, has initiated a campaign to end discrimination and other human rights violations faced by people affected by leprosy around the world.

Mr Sasakawa, who is also the Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, a non profit foundation established in 1962, says he has approached the UN Sub committee on the Protection and Promotion of Human Right and has obtained unanimous approval for a resolution to urge governments to end basic human rights violation.

A Committee is working on a draft Principle and guidelines for eliminating discrimination to be submitted in September 2010, he added when he visited the Leprosy Hospital and Cured Patients Camp at Cape Coast. Mr. Sasakawa, appointed by the Japanese Government as the WHO Goodwill Ambassador in 2007, is in the country as part of the delegation of the Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan who is on a four-day visit to the country. Leprosy is a disease caused by a rod-shaped bacillus called Mycobacterium Leprae or M-Leprae which affects the skin and nerves. It is transmitted through air via droplets from the nose and mouth during close and frequent contact with untreated infected individual.

Mixing, touching and hugging patients at the leprosarium to tell the world that leprosy is not an infectious disease nor is it hereditary, Mr. Sasakawa said though through the effort of governments' leprosy had decline in countries like Ghana, about six million cured leprosy patients in the world faced discrimination and stigmatization. This, he said, was very worrying and cautioned against the use of derogatory terms such as lepers or its equivalent in other languages. Mr Sasakawa said those patients should not be referred to by the disease but by their names, adding that cured patients and their families should be acknowledged as people who are part of society. He commended Ghana for the 0.29 per 10,000 leprosy rates and that Ghana was far ahead of many countries with leprosy especially in terms of facilities, cleanliness at the hospital and camp and presented a cheque for an undisclosed amount, football and T-shirts to the cured patients and families.

Dr Amankwah Otabil, Programme Manger, Leprosy Control, Ghana Health Service, said there were no vaccines for the disease, rather early detection prevented deformities and urged the public to report to the clinic with any skin rashes, adding that treatment for the disease was free. Mr. Kofi Nyarko, a cured patient, teacher and an advocate for the elimination of discrimination against leprosy appealed to his colleagues to "keep hope alive" and commended the Nippon Foundation for the immense contribution to eliminating leprosy in the world. Sister Patricia, a Co-Director of the camp, said funding and sponsorship for the institution came mostly from Ireland, United Kingdom, USA and the Netherlands, adding that about 100,000 pounds was spent annually for feeding, education of children and maintenance at the camp. However, she said, due to the economic recession, funding had dropped considerably for the over 68 families living at the camp and therefore feeding had been stopped. She said stigma and discrimination was a major problem for the cured patients who could not mix with society. According to the Global Appeal to end stigma and discrimination against people affected by leprosy in 2007, discrimination is one of the oldest forms and most pervasive examples of social injustice in the history of the human race. Millions of men, women and children continue to suffer social, economic and legal discrimination, simply because they or a member of their family has leprosy. 9 March 10