Dr. Adrian Hopkins, MBE Consultant, former Director Mectizan Donation Programme, UK

Dr Hopkins has spent most of his career in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. He participated in the creation of the Health Districts (Zones) in DRC in the early 80’s and was one of the original “Médecin Chef de Zones”, as well... read moreas setting up ophthalmology services over a wide area of the then Equateur Province of Zaire. He first treated onchocerciasis patients with the then new drug Mectizan in 1988, and reviewed pilot community projects in the DRC in 1991. He was appointed technical advisor to the Ministry of Health for the National Programme for Onchocerciasis Control and Blindness Prevention, sponsored by CBM, which was set up in 1993. In 1999, he returned to the DRC to help set up the Ophthalmology Training Centre for Central Africa as well as continuing work with Onchocerciasis in DRC and CAR, and oversight of programmes in Burundi, and South Sudan, which led to further developments with other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). He served on the WHO African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) Technical Consultative Committee, and was chair of the NGO group for Onchocerciasis Elimination. He served as Director of the Mectizan Donation Programme based in Atlanta USA from 2008 for 9 years. He is currently working as a consultant, and amongst other activities is chair of the onchocerciasis elimination committee in DRC, a member of the Scientific Committee for the Research Centre for Filariasis and other tropical diseases in Yaoundé, Cameroon and chair of its Administrative council, as well as acting as consultant to various NGO for NTDs and blindness prevention.