World Leprosy Day 2023
In 2023, World Leprosy Day is Sunday 29 January. World Leprosy Day always takes place on the last Sunday of January every year.
This date was chosen by French humanitarian, Raoul Follereau as a tribute to the life of Mahatma Gandhi, who did much work with persons affected by leprosy and died at the end of January 1948.
World Leprosy Day is facilitated by organizations of people affected by leprosy and leprosy-focused NGOs, including The Leprosy Mission Nigeria. This is an opportunity to raise awareness of the general public on Leprosy and the plight of persons affected by leprosy.
The theme for World Leprosy Day 2023 is ‘Act Now: End Leprosy’. On the day you will be able to follow online with #WorldLeprosyDay.
How You Can Help
Raise Awareness: We are creating a banner to raise awareness of the general public on leprosy and increase government participation and commitment toward the elimination of leprosy in Nigeria. We encourage you to lend your voice to this cause by getting your own banner here
You can also share some key facts and details about leprosy for world leprosy day:
- Leprosy is curable with a combination of antibiotics known as Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT). This treatment is available for free across the world. If leprosy is not treated, it can lead to serious complications.
- Leprosy is at least 4,000 years old, making it one of the oldest diseases known to humanity. However, we believe we can be the generation that finally ends the transmission of leprosy – our target is zero transmission by 2035.
- Leprosy still exists! Around 200,000 people are diagnosed with leprosy each year and many millions are living with leprosy-related disabilities, particularly across Asia, Africa, and South America.
- It costs £24 to find and treat someone with leprosy. You can do that today at donate.leprosymission.org
Donate: We believe we can end leprosy transmission by 2035, but only if we have the right resources. You can give today to help us defeat leprosy.
Donate to The Leprosy Mission Nigeria; United Bank for Africa – 1003178288
Share Love: If you live in a community where persons affected by leprosy are present, or where you hear people talk about leprosy, you can decide to demonstrate love and kindness, rather than the fear and stigma that so often follows persons affected by leprosy.
Learn About Leprosy.
You can learn about the work the leprosy mission Nigeria is doing in your community here.
Learn about leprosy, the myths and misconceptions around leprosy here.
