January 2024 - World Leprosy Day 2024

Like every year, World Leprosy Day (WLD) is celebrated on the last Sunday of January. Leprosy is one of the tropical diseases reported by the World Health Organization as neglected and is still an important health problem in various countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, due to precarious socioeconomic conditions that favor its transmission.

In the last two years the annual number of people with this diagnosis has been increasing, after the decline due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the new WHO report, people diagnosed with leprosy during 2022 increased by 23.8% compared to 2021. In 2022, 5.9% of people were children. Furthermore, the percentage of new cases with severe disabilities increased by 12.8%, highlighting the serious problem of late diagnoses.

The theme of World Leprosy Day 2024, which is celebrated on Sunday 28 January, is “Beat Leprosy”.

This theme summarizes the dual objective of the day: eradicating the stigma associated with leprosy and promoting the dignity of those affected by the disease. The theme “Beat Leprosy” serves as a strong reminder of the need to address the social and psychological aspects of leprosy, along with medical efforts to eliminate it.

Also in Italy, AIFO, a non-governmental organization that operates in the field of International Development Cooperation and partner of the World Health Organization, organizes demonstrations in the streets to raise awareness of the problem to ensure protection, inclusion and health for every person and to reduce social inequalities so that no one lives on the margins.

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