In a bid to educate and advocate for non-stigmatisation of lepers in the society, Junior Chamber International (JCI) Nigeria in collaboration with NIPPON Foundation, Japan, is embarking on a sensitisation campaign tagged Think Leprosy Now.
The campaign is a social responsibility initiative geared at creating a conducive environment for lepers and educating all stakeholders to play an important role.
Think Leprosy Now is a global appeal which came out of the need for change designed to restore hope and dignity to people living with leprosy and how they should be perceived.
The campaign will take the organisation to the major leprosy colonies in Lagos, Abeokuta, Ogbomoso, Enugu and Abuja.
Immediate National President, JCI Nigeria, JCI Ambassador Olatunji Oyeyemi, commented that “a lot of Nigerians do not know that leprosy is a curable disease and this has resulted in the unnecessary stigmatisation of victims.”
He also reiterated that if the public understands the disease better, people affected with leprosy will feel freer to seek treatment at most general hospitals where treatment is free instead of isolating themselves.
“Let’s give them an opportunity to contribute to the development of the society and also to live like every one of us by working together to support them, also having an all-inclusive mindset to ensuring and creating awareness and sensitisation nationwide,” he added.
About 180,000 people worldwide are infected with leprosy, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Most of the infection are in Africa and Asia.
