Raising awareness of leprosy
Breaking stigma, spreading awareness, and supporting inclusion
Each month, the Sunflower focuses on a different non-visible disability to help build understanding, challenge stigma, and support inclusion.
This month’s focus is leprosy.
Leprosy is a condition many people mistakenly believe no longer exists. In reality, it still affects people around the world today. Alongside the physical impacts, outdated myths and stigma can make living with leprosy particularly isolating. Because leprosy can be a hidden disability, the experiences of those living with it are often overlooked or misunderstood. At the Sunflower, we are committed to increasing visibility, understanding, and compassion for people affected by leprosy. World Leprosy Day is recognised each year on the last Sunday of January. While this global awareness day plays an important role in shining a spotlight on leprosy, our commitment to supporting people affected by leprosy continues throughout the year.
Understanding leprosy: breaking stigma and building support
To support leprosy awareness, we hosted a 30-minute educational webinar for Sunflower Corporate and Global Members.
The session explores what leprosy is today, addresses common misconceptions, and shares how organisations can create more supportive and inclusive environments for colleagues and customers.
The webinar recording is available to Corporate and Global Sunflower Members to watch on demand in your Sunflower account.
Learn more about leprosy
Want to raise awareness across your business? We’ve created a Leprosy invisible disabilities index entry to explain the condition, highlight the lived experience of those affected, and provide guidance on how to offer understanding and support.
Sunflower personalised cards
Our personalised Sunflower cards allow individuals to quietly communicate what they want others to know, without needing to say a word.
These help reduce anxiety and allow people with Leprosy to move more confidently through public and professional spaces.
Keep an eye on the Sunflower shop for the latest cards and products to support leprosy awareness.
Media assets
Exclusively available to download for Corporate and Global Sunflower members only in your Sunflower account here.
You will need to log into your Sunflower account before you see the leprosy poster and graphics you can download. Search for 'leprosy' in the table search option.
Download leprosy media assets here
Poster
We’ve designed a bright poster to help you raise awareness of leprosy in your workplace:
Social Media
We’ve designed an easy-to-use social post and caption to help you raise awareness of leprosy on your internal comms platforms or public channels. Use it to:
- Promote awareness and inclusion
- Educate your teams
- Celebrate visibility and strength
Suggested caption:
“Did you know that leprosy still occurs in more than 120 countries, with around 200,000 new cases reported every year?
We want to raise awareness and challenge the outdated stigma surrounding this curable condition. We are proud to be members of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, which helps us build a more inclusive and supportive environment for all our colleagues and customers. By fostering understanding, we can make a real difference.
To learn more about leprosy and how to offer support, we encourage you to read the Sunflower's invisible disabilities index entry here.
#WorldLeprosyDay #HiddenDisabilities #InclusionMatters"
Download social media images by using 'leprosy' as a search term in our media assets library here:
Podcast: Living with leprosy
As part of our ongoing awareness work, we spoke with Chris Stratta from The Leprosy Mission on the Sunflower Conversations podcast.
In this 25-minute episode, Living with Leprosy, Chris shares insights into life with the condition and the importance of understanding, dignity, and inclusion. The episode is available to listen to on demand.
How to get involved
- Invite your staff to the Leprosy awareness webinar
- Share the social posts across your organisations channels
- Listen together to the upcoming podcast episode
- Read and share the invisible disabilities index on leprosy
- Encourage staff and customers to explore our Sunflower cards
- Use the day to spark conversation and compassion
Together, we can help break the stigma around leprosy and help people feel recognised, respected and supported, not just on World Leprosy Day, but every day.