Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Global Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and chairman of this foundation, has made the elimination of leprosy his lifework.

The disease has been with humankind since before the beginning of recorded history, but in the early 1980s, the development of a multidrug therapy that completely killed the leprosy bacteria finally gave us our first tool to conquer it.

Over the ensuing years, we have succeeded in achieving the WHO's elimination goal¹ at a global level, and today only three countries remain that still can be considered endemic--Brazil, East Timor, and Nepal.

However, there is a second facet to leprosy--the stigma and discrimination that it generates. This has lead to far more horror throughout history than the bacteria itself. It is to this remarkably pernicious side of leprosy that Yohei Sasakawa has recently been turning his attention.

Through personal visits with national leaders, work with media at all levels, empowerment of people affected by the disease, and approaches to the United Nations Human Rights Council, his campaign has taken him all around the world and has had a profound effect on the lives of people affected by leprosy.

His work has given him the kind of comprehensive view of leprosy around the world that very few people can lay claim to.

Recently, Mr. Sasakawa published some of his views on the global state of leprosy in Britain's Independent Online. Those interested in hearing what he has to say on the issue are invited to steer your browser to "Leprosy also requires a social cure" on the Independent Online.