Leprosy has been a source of suffering for so long that it is perhaps difficult to imagine a world without it. But it is an attainable goal, and one that is coming closer, thanks to the dedication of people such as Mr. Yohei Sasakawa.
—Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Foreword, A Global Impact

In 2001, Yohei Sasakawa was appointed WHO Special Ambassador to the Global Alliance for Elimination of Leprosy (GAEL). Following GAEL’s dissolution, the appointment was retitled WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination. Dr. Shigeki Sakamoto, a former member of the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council, and Dr. Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director of the Sasakawa Health Foundation, have used the occasion of Sasakawa’s 20th year as Goodwill Ambassador to pull together an edited volume that reflects on his work.

Published in English by London-based C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., A Global Impact: Reflections on the Work of Yohei Sasakawa, the WHO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, consists of a foreword by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, and seven chapters by six contributors.

Each chapter aims to identify Sasakawa’s methods and contributions in order to extract lessons and models with relevance for fighting other infectious diseases and actualizing the “leave no one behind” principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Themes addressed include public health, human rights, empowerment of the people most affected (primary stakeholders), public awareness, and the significance of a leader’s personal qualities and commitments. 

The book will be of interest to any individual or organization tackling a complex, global issue that requires efforts at all levels of society to solve.

Contributors (in chapter order)

Shigeki Sakamoto, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Kobe University

Derek Lobo, former Regional Advisor, Leprosy and other Priority Diseases, World Health Organization, South-East Asia Regional Office

Takahiro Nanri, Executive Director, Sasakawa Health Foundation

Artur Custódio Moreira de Sousa, volunteer and former National Coordinator, Movement for the Reintegration of Persons Affected by Hansen’s Disease (MORHAN)

Tatsuya Tanami, Special Advisor and former Executive Director, The Nippon Foundation

Marcos Virmond, former Director, Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima; former President, International Leprosy Association

A Global Impact: Reflections on the Work of Yohei Sasakawa https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/a-global-impact/