Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Sunday, 27th January 2018 was joined by Chief Justice, Mrs. Sophia Akufo and President of Lepers Aid, Ghana, Rev. Father Andrew Campbell to commemorate the 2019 World Leprosy day at the Weija Leprosarium in Accra.
This year’s celebration was under the theme, “Ending discrimination, stigma and prejudices’. The last Sunday of January of every year is set aside as the World Leprosy Day to raise awareness about the disease, celebrate the people affected and mobilise support for leprosy control.
Speaking at the occasion, Vice President Dr.Bawumia, who is also the Patron of the ‘cured’ Lepers called for attention and care for people living with leprosy and also urged to stop discrimination against people living with the disease.
“Discriminating against people who have suffered leprosy is not Godly and therefore we should all desist from that” Dr. Bawumia noted.
The Vice President also indicated that the government is on course to achieving a zero infection of leprosy in children and will do all it can through the provision of the needed resource to attain it.
“Government will support the various Leprosaria to ensure that people living with leprosy are protected and live a meaning life”, Dr. Bawumia indicated.
He further pledged at the 2019 commemoration to join hands with the Lepers Aid Committee to raise more funds for their activities.
On her part, Justice Sophia Akufo said people diagnosed with the disease should not be forced to leave their homes to live in a distant facility and must not be disowned by their family members and society.
Father Andrew Campbell expressed appreciation to the Vice President and many other philanthropist who have over the years shown care, concern and support to the lepers in Ghana. He called for increased support from government in funding the activities of the Lepers Aid Committee, Ghana to enable them take good care of the cured lepers in their care.
Already, all cured lepers in Ghana are placed on the government’s social intervention program called the livelihood empowerment against poverty (LEAP), a gesture the Lepers Aid Committee is grateful for. Father Campbell also expressed satisfaction at the support given to the committee from the District Assemblies Common Fund, and hoped for many of such gestures from government.
The Vice president who is a life patron of the Lepers Aid Committee in December, 2018, together with his wife the Second Lady, Hajia Samira Bawumia fete scores of cured lepers at their residence during which he called for an end to discrimination and stigmatization against people living with leprosy.
