Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre

Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre is a doctor who has spent his career on the treatment and rehabilitation of people with leprosy, and is president of the Voluntary Health Association of India, which links more than 4,500 health and development bodies. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2022 in the field of medicine, from Maharashtra ^[1].

Acworth Leprosy Hospital

Dongre was born on 29 September 1939 ^[2]. He joined the Acworth Leprosy Hospital at Wadala, Mumbai, in 1963 and worked there for 34 years ^[2]. Alongside his work he took an Ayurvedic medical degree in 1967 and an MBBS, along with qualifications in dermatology, social work and health education, to deal with the medical, social and legal sides of leprosy ^[2]. He founded the Bombay Leprosy Project to take the work beyond the hospital ^[2].

Survey, education, treatment

He helped run the national “survey, education and treatment” approach to leprosy and the rehabilitation of patients, and campaigned to repeal old laws that violated the rights of people with leprosy ^[2]. He wrote about 60 books on leprosy in Marathi and English, distributed free and translated into many languages; one is used by the government as a training manual for health workers ^[2].

In 1997 he became director of the Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation in Wardha, working in remote villages of Vidarbha ^[2]. Since 1998, as head of the Voluntary Health Association of India, he has led rehabilitation work after the Odisha super cyclone, the Bhuj earthquake and the tsunami ^[2]. He received the International Gandhi Award in 2014 ^[2].