International Symposium at the Vatican on Hansen’s Disease "Leave No One Behind" - Global Appeal 2023

The International Symposium at the Vatican on Hansen’s Disease was held at the Augustinian Patristic Institute (Augustinianum) in Rome on the theme “Leave No One Behind” on January 23-24, 2023. The Symposium was co-hosted by the Fondation Raoul Follereau, Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau (AIFO), and Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative, in cooperation with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. It included the launch ceremony for the 2023 Global Appeal to End Stigma and Discrimination against Persons Affected by Leprosy.

This symposium gathered around 130 health and human rights experts, organizational representatives, and persons affected by Hansen’s disease (leprosy) or other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), altogether from 24 countries, to discuss actions needed to achieve “zero leprosy” and realize a society in which no one is left behind. 

In this report of the symposium you can read what the participants discussed and learned.