In November, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination Yohei Sasakawa visited India’s capital city, New Delhi, for the first time in two years. During meetings with India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mr. J.P. Nadda, and WHO Regional Director for the South-East Asia Region, Ms. Saima Wazed, he requested their cooperation and participation in the 20th Global Appeal to End Stigma and Discrimination against Persons Affected by Leprosy, which is scheduled to be held in Delhi in January 2025. Both leaders responded favorably.

While in New Delhi, the Goodwill Ambassador also attended a board meeting for the Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation (S-ILF) and an event celebrating 18 years since the organization’s founding in 2006. He was especially happy to see the board’s chairman, Mr. Tarun Das, who he had not met with in person since before the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, he had opportunities to talk with persons affected by leprosy from a nearby leprosy colony as well as members of the Association of People Affected by Leprosy (APAL). 

The Goodwill Ambassador also enjoyed interacting with graduates of the Dalai Lama–Sasakawa Scholarship program. He asked them about the kind of work they are doing now and was told that some are traveling the world as cabin attendants, others are working as journalists, and still others are working in hospitals. They spoke of how their jobs, made possible by the education they received while in the program, have allowed them to move with their families out of the colonies and into nearby towns.

In addition to continuing support for access to higher education, the Goodwill Ambassador wants to facilitate improved communication between the colonies and local governments so that the governments can base their plans for assistance on accurate information. He hopes that systems will be put in place for promoting integration between colony residents and people in neighboring areas, and believes that the eventual disappearance of the colonies as integration proceeds will be a sign of progress toward the elimination of leprosy-related stigma and discrimination.