India
Nippon Foundation announces $10 million for leprosy patients
By IANS
Jan 31, 2006, 18:48

Nippon Foundation, a leading Japanese charity, Sunday announced it will spend $10 million for the rehabilitation and empowerment of people affected by leprosy in India.

Foundation chairman Yohoi Sasakawa told a conference here the money would be raised within a year and invested for the social and economic empowerment of these underprivileged citizens.

"The money will be spent in establishing vocational training centres and a special micro-financing scheme for the people affected by leprosy in India," said Sasakawa, who is also WHO's goodwill ambassador for leprosy.

India currently has around 700 leprosy colonies and 118,844 registered leprosy cases. Over 11 million leprosy cases have been treated in India since the introduction of multiple drug therapy in the early 1980s.

"People living in these colonies are not lacking professional skills, what they lack is opportunities," Sasakawam told IANS on the sidelines of the event that sought to make a global appeal to end discrimination against leprosy patients.

"Through these programmes we would like to create opportunities for them so that they can either run their own businesses or get absorbed in different companies," he said.

Sasakawam appealed to the Indian industry, NGOs and public to contribute money for the speedy rehabilitation of the affected people.

Nippon Foundation, in a collaborative effort, will form a confederation of colonies for the leprosy-affected people, identify their skills, and impart vocational training to them, he said.

Experts from countries like Brazil, the Philippines, Nepal, Japan and India, who participated in the conference, asked the UN Commission on Human Rights to take up social ostracisation of leprosy-affected people as a priority issue.

"We appeal to the commission to take up this matter and issue guidelines for all governments to follow and help in eliminating discrimination against people affected by leprosy," said S.D. Gokhale, chairman of the International Leprosy Union.

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