World Leprosy Day

World Leprosy Day is an annual awareness-raising holiday celebrated on January 30. Leprosy is a long-term infectious disease known as Hansen's disease (HD). This disease has existed for more than thousands of years and is affecting people. Leprosy is a disease that has existed for a long time. Many people believe that this contagious disease is an extinct disease, but it still exists today. World Leprosy Day was created to raise public awareness of chronic human skin and neurological diseases.

History of World Leprosy Day

World Leprosy Day has been celebrated globally since 1954. Raoul Follereau, a French philanthropist and writer, founded this Awareness Day. Since then, it has been observed worldwide on January 30 or the nearest Sunday of the same day of the year. This day is mainly chosen to commemorate the death of Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian leader and freedom fighter who understood the importance of leprosy and its treatments. He worked tirelessly for the benefit and good of those suffering from leprosy. Raoul Follereau has launched an awareness day to make people aware of this supposedly extinct disease.

Awareness Day calls attention to this deadly disease with the fact that it is preventable, treatable and curable. Unlike other diseases, leprosy is one of the oldest recorded diseases in the world. Leprosy targets the body's nervous system. It is specifically the nerves that reside in the colder parts of the human body such as the feet, hands, and face. Globally, many people don't know that this chronic disease persists. There are more than 210,000 new cases of leprosy diagnosed each year, and millions of people are living undiagnosed. The disease is spread to people through coughing or contact with fluids from the nose of an infected person.

Leprosy is also known as Hansen's disease, named after Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, a Norwegian physician. He discovered that leprosy was not a genetic disease but a bacterial infection. Mycobacterium leprae or lepromatosis is the bacteria that causes this disease. Awareness Day started aims to raise awareness for those affected by leprosy and bring knowledge that can be cured by multi-drug treatments.

How to Celebrate World Leprosy Day

Learn more about leprosy. Engage with organizations and non-governmental organizations to educate people about the disease. If you are a professional doctor, you can talk to people and infected people to raise awareness about this disease. Conduct rallies, events and donate the money you get for the welfare of people with leprosy. Never demean or embarrass those affected with your words and actions. Share your awareness and thoughts about the disease on social media using the hashtag # WorldLeprocyDay.