The Mectizan Donation Program welcomes Dr. Abdel Direny to the role of Principal Deputy Director. Dr. Direny serves as the second-in-command to MDP Director Dr. Yao Sodahlon, facilitating access to the Merck & Co., Inc.* donation of Mectizan for the elimination of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis.
In his new role with MDP, Dr. Direny manages MDP’s technical operations, including application review and supply chain management. He will also work with partners to promote the best practices for safe and effective implementation of mass drug administration with Mectizan; Mectizan and albendazole; or Mectizan, albendazole, and DEC (IDA, also known as triple drug therapy for LF elimination). Dr. Direny will also work closely with partners to establish and implement strategies leading to the elimination of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis.
Dr. Direny is a medical doctor who is bilingual in French and English. He brings to the program over 20 years’ expertise in the control and elimination strategies for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) amenable to preventive chemotherapy including lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis. Prior to joining MDP, Dr. Direny served as technical director for NTDs with Corus International (formerly IMA World Health), where he led the implementation of the USAID-funded Act to End NTDs | East program. Prior to that role, he served as Senior NTD Technical Advisor for RTI International’s ENVISION Program, where he supported partner countries through technical assistance. Dr. Direny is an authority on the subject of NTD control and elimination. He has written multiple publications on NTDs and served as a trainer of Program Managers in Haiti, Nepal, and parts of Africa (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Mali, and Senegal).
Dr. Direny received his M.D. in 2000 from the State University of Haiti, certification from the International Course on Epidemiology and Applied Data Processing in Africa in 2004 in Benin, and a Master of Public Health in 2007 from the Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium). He was a Foege Fellow at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta in 2015.
The Mectizan Donation Program team is delighted to have Dr. Direny on board and looks forward to gaining even more momentum in our campaign to #StampOutOncho and #eliminateLF.
*Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey USA, is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.