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The PEOPLE

Mohan Gupte

Lifetime Achievement

He was a student of the late Prof. N. S. Deodhar and Prof. P. V. Sathe from B. J. Medical College, Pune. Their guidance helped him to gain expertise in Epidemiology and Public Health skills through his work in difficult conditions like the drought and post-tsunami medical relief in 2004 in India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and several epidemic investigations. His ultimate objective was to take action for positive change. His work contributed to the accomplishment of "Smallpox Zero" status despite challenging cultural backgrounds.

His Leprosy field unit at Chennai became a WHO collaborating centre. Apart from several multi-country clinical trials for leprosy treatment, the international vaccine trial in South India that recruited around 1,71,400 people and followed them for 13 years was the pinnacle of his leprosy work. This work was recognized in the prestigious Jordan Report 2000 of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, USA. As the first Chairman of the WHO Leprosy Technical Advisory Group and a consultant to the World Bank, he played a significant role in Global Leprosy Elimination. At Sevagram, the Hon'ble Vice President of India presented him with the International Gandhi Award.

In 1999, he founded the National Institute of Epidemiology and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) School of Public Health in India. He pioneered the applied epidemiology training movement in India, focusing on the empowerment of middle-level public health officers. In their respective regions, these officers laid the groundwork for public health surveillance and outbreak investigations. His students now hold senior positions in public health services in various Indian states. He was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for Exceptional Leadership, Vision, and Devoted Service for Improving Public Health in India and Around the World by the University of South California, Los Angeles. He actively participated in Covid 19 management, vaccination, and public awareness campaigns via television, newspapers, and universities.

He chaired the ICMR-ICAR task force on One Health. His relentless efforts resulted in the establishment of the National Institute for One Health in Nagpur in 2022.