27 January
World Leprosy Day takes place on the last Sunday in January. In 2019 this will be 27th January and this year we are calling for governments and authorities to dedicate more resources to leprosy research to support this vastly under-funded area.
Across the globe, leprosy charities and partners join together to raise awareness of this disease that many people believe to be extinct, when in fact around 210,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and we believe millions more people are living undiagnosed, leaving them at risk of disabilities.
How is the date decided?
The last Sunday in January was chosen by French humanitarian Raoul Follereau in 1953, as the third Sunday from Epiphany from the Catholic calendar. The Catholic Church then reads the story of the Gospel where Jesus meets and heals a person with leprosy.
