AMBASADDOR’S JOURNAL: Goodwill Ambassador visits Bangladesh for the first time in four years - Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative

Sept. 3–5, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination Yohei Sasakawa visited Bangladesh for the first time since he attended the First National Leprosy Conference held nearly four years ago in December 2019.

During his visit, he met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque, Secretary of the Health Service Division Anowar Hossain Howlader, and WHO Representative to Bangladesh Bardan Jung Rana. He appealed to the leaders to hold a second national conference on leprosy within 2023.

Bangladesh’s First National Leprosy Conference was supported by The Nippon Foundation and Sasakawa Health Foundation. At the conference, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared that Bangladesh would reach zero leprosy by 2030. Her declaration, coming from the nation’s top leader, encouraged everyone in the country to work toward the goal.

At around the same time as the conference, a novel coronavirus started spreading around the world, and by 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting healthcare and disrupting leprosy control efforts worldwide. Now that the pandemic has subsided, the time is right for a second national conference to revive momentum toward the goal.

Over the next few months, I will be in close contact with the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to encourage follow-through on holding a second national conference before the end of the year.

Sept. 5 – Prime Minister’s Office – Goodwill Ambassador Sasakawa and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina discuss the possibility of a second national conference in Bangladesh. The Prime Minister spoke about her concern for persons affected by leprosy and the actions she was taking even before assuming her current position.

Sept. 4 – World Health Organization (WHO) Bangladesh – Goodwill Ambassador Sasakawa and WHO Representative to Bangladesh Bardan Jung Rana hold a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” campaign banner after discussing the possibility of a second national conference. Dr. Bardan encouraged the proposal, expressing his hope for an interactive conference that leads to concrete actions.

Sept. 4 – Ministry of Health & Family Welfare – (from left) Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh Kiminori Iwama, Secretary of the Health Services Division Anowar Hossain Howlader, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque, Goodwill Ambassador Sasakawa, Director General of Health Services Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, and Additional Secretary of the Health Services Division Md Saidur Rahman stand with a “Don’t Forget Leprosy” campaign banner. The Ministry agreed to support a second national conference.

Report on the First Bangladesh National Conference in 2019
https://www.shf.or.jp/wsmhfp/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/202001newsletter098-web.pdf

Details of meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sept. 5, 2023
https://sasakawaleprosyinitiative.org/latest-updates/initiative-news/4530/

Leprosy Bulletin 117PDF

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