World Leprosy Day

World Leprosy Day

Celebrate World Leprosy Day – January 31, 2021

  • Every day, 50 girls and boys around the world are diagnosed with leprosy. Many more will remain undiagnosed due to stigma, fear and lack of medical expertise
  • But leprosy can be cured. If it’s detected early, suffering and disabilities can be prevented

Leprosy in Children

  • Leprosy is still being transmitted to children
  • New cases of leprosy in children comprise 7.4% of all the new detected leprosy cases in 2019
  • Children are suffering from lifelong disabilities caused by leprosy
  • Proactive, early detection and treatment of leprosy must be an international priority, to prevent leprosy being transmitted to children and disabilities developing
World Leprosy Day
World Leprosy Day

About World Leprosy Day

  • For more than 60 years, on the last Sunday of January, thousands of people across the globe have stopped to remember those who suffer from leprosy
  • World Leprosy Day helps to focus on the needs of some of the poorest and most marginalized people in the world – those affected by leprosy. Many people think of leprosy as an ancient disease that was eradicated many years ago. But every year, hundreds of thousands of children, women and men discover they have leprosy