This article originally appeared in The Japan Times, on March 6, 2006. The Japan Times holds all rights to its publication. Any reproduction of any kind must be confirmed in advance with The Japan Times, which can be reached via the link at the end of this article.


By KYOICHI MIYAGAWA
Staff writer

When very few people thought that leprosy could be eradicated decades ago, Yohei Sasakawa believed he could help the world defeat the disease, using the Nippon Foundation -- a unique charitable organization created by his father, Ryoichi Sasakawa.
"Five years ago, most people were skeptical about the eradication," said Sasakawa, 67, who assumed the chairmanship of the foundation last summer, in a recent interview with The Japan Times.

Now the world is coming very close to conquering a disease that has afflicted societies in most parts of the globe for centuries, obviously due in no small measure to Sasakawa's continuous and strenuous efforts.


The number of countries where leprosy is endemic has plummeted from 122 in 1985 to seven -- Nepal, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil and Central Africa.

"India, which accounted for most of the patients in the past, in January declared its success in conquering the disease while Brazil is expected to issue a 'conquer declaration' soon," Sasakawa said.

The "conquer declaration" is issued, pursuant to World Health Organization standards, when a leprosy-plagued country with a population of 1 million or more has reduced the number of patients to one in 10,000 of the population.

Since the development in the early 1980s of "wonder" multidrug therapy (MDT), 13 million leprosy patients have been cured. The Nippon Foundation has delivered MDT free since 1995, and has so far spent approximately 30 billion yen since 1975 on helping to eradicate the disease.