The Mectizan Donation Program is pleased to announce that Dr. Donald R. Hopkins, Vice President for Health Programs at The Carter Center, was awarded the 2007 Merck Mectizan Award. The Award was presented in November 2007 in Quito, Ecuador, during the InterAmerican Conference on Onchocerciasis. Dr. Hopkins was selected based on his remarkable contributions to the control and elimination of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis. Activities and accomplishments cited as examples of his commitment and dedication included:
- Dr. Hopkins’ instrumental role in establishing the Carter Center’s River Blindness Program in 1996. Today, The Carter Center is enabling the delivery of Mectizan to millions of people in thousands of communities in six countries in Latin America and five in Africa.
- He demonstrates an unwavering commitment to the elimination of onchocerciasis in the Americas through the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program of the Americas (OEPA). As a result, treatment with Mectizan is no longer necessary in many previously endemic areas and the goal of eliminating the disease in the Western Hemisphere is becoming a reality.
- He established the role of The Carter Center as a center of excellence for operational research into disease surveillance, and monitoring and evaluation of onchocerciasis control and elimination programs, to the benefit of all the partners in the global fight against river blindness.
- Dr. Hopkins championed the successful application of lessons learned from the program partners of the Mectizan Donation Program to other disease control and elimination initiatives such as lymphatic filariasis and trachoma.
The accomplishments above and Dr. Hopkins’ many other important endeavors reflect his continued commitment to the fight against onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. We congratulate him on this most deserved award.