WHO Director-General’s Award for Global Health

Director-General Tedros. Distinguished guests and participants. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for this prestigious award.

I have been active all over the world on a quest to realize a world without leprosy and the stigma and discrimination it causes. I still remember the faces of patients, who had been abandoned by their families and society, when I visited a leprosarium for the first time 46 years ago. They were empty of hope. That’s when I began my fight against leprosy—one of humankind’s oldest infectious diseases and also a human rights issue that has long tormented individuals affected by leprosy as well as their families.

In 2001, I was appointed as a WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination. Based on my belief that problems and their solutions are found in the field, I have traveled to more than 100 countries, spending time in jungles, deserts and mountains. On the medical front, the free distribution of leprosy drugs has contributed to reducing patients dramatically. On the human rights front, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted, in 2010, a resolution on elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members.  Efforts to address the disease and the human rights issues associated with it have come down to the last mile. However, there is a saying in Japan: On a journey of 100 miles, 99 miles is only halfway. To keep moving forward in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, I started a worldwide campaign called “Don’t forget leprosy.” This photo was taken by my friend at the highest peak of the world’s Mt. Everest. Please join me on the last mile to end leprosy. Thank you.

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