As a part of his many activities on behalf of people around the world who have been affected by leprosy, Yohei Sasakawa has since 2006 lead Global Appeals to End Stigma and Discrimination against People Affected by Leprosy.

The appeals, which have all been held on or near World Leprosy Day, have each been made by different groups of people, but have all had the same basic objective: the restoration of the dignity and human rights of people affected by leprosy. Affected people include the family and relatives of those who have actually fought with the disease—all whose lives have been disrupted by the terrible stigma that leprosy engenders. Individuals have been cast out of society, families have been torn apart, and those who have been cured find that social attitudes continue to wall them out, even today. In today's world, where leprosy is easily curable, the social attitudes that engender these human rights violations are insupportable. Through these Global Appeals, Sasakawa hopes to bring the attention of the world to this surprisingly widespread and tenacious problem.

In 2006, Sasakawa lead a group of world leaders and Nobel Peace Prize laureates in announcing the first appeal from Delhi, India. In 2007, representatives of people affected by leprosy joined him in making the appeal from Manila, the Philippines. 2008 saw Sasakawa take the appeal to London, England where he was being joined by eight international organizations that work for human rights in a number of areas. Finallyk Global Appeal 2009 has brought together leaders of many different religious faiths to affirm that discrimination arising from leprosy is not an acceptable part of today's world.

The Global Appeal itself, as well as a message from Sasakawa, and more information about leprosy can be found via the links at the bottom of this page.