Image from the Wellcome Trust

This is the second post (first one) of my attempt at profiling different malaria workers. Not many have heard of the epidemiologist Rickard Christophers (1873 – 1978). I came across his work accidentally, which was fortunate, because his lessons hold great promise for our efforts today. Having worked in the Duars area of India (where Sir Rickard led a landmark two year malaria survey), his legacy and writings speak closely to me.

Some reasons why Sir Rickard is an all-star:

• True malariologist – studied the host, vector, parasite, and social environment
• Coined the concept of the ‘tropical aggregation of labour’
• Fought for improved labor conditions of tea workers to reduce malaria
• Chronicled the infamous malaria epidemic cycle of the Punjab
• Founded the Malaria Reference Lab, later directed the Central Research Institute at Kausali (forerunner to the Malaria Institute of India, which became the National Institute for Communicable Diseases)
• Worked past the age of 100

Some editorials about him:

• 80th birthday
• 100th Birthday
• Obituaries: 1, 2, 3

My first post in this series is on Dr Krongthong Thimasarn, regional adviser for malaria at the  Southeast Asia Regional Office of the World Health Organization.

Highlights:

• Former director of the Malaria Division at the Thai Ministry of Public Health, arguably the best malaria control program in the world
• Founding member of ACTmalaria network – a collaborative training network for Asia
• Medical doctor and graduate of the Thailand Field Epidemiology Training Program

In Thailand Dr Thimasarn saw Plasmodium falciparum grow resistant to chloroquine, sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine, and mefloquine in succession – what a nightmare and challenge! Her knowledge of program implementation is incredible and she understands the realities which governments often face. But more importantly, she never let those hurdles stand in the way of necessary actions or relevant evidence, no matter how difficult the changes would be or how inconvenient the data was. If you work in public health, you understand how valuable this is. Dr Thimasarn’s amazing work ethic has continued at WHO where she can often be found working as late as 8pm in the evening, including Saturdays. It is a type of dedication that is rarely matched.

If you know other malaria heroes and would like to recognize them, please email me a guest post and I will be happy to publish it.