Professor Moses Bockarie retires as Head of EDCTP Africa Office
EDCTP expresses gratitude to Prof. Moses John Bockarie on his retirement from the organisation after seven years of highly committed service. EDCTP will remember Prof. Bockarie as a dedicated researcher and manager who furthered the objectives of the organisation in sub-Saharan Africa in the areas of African ownership, advocacy, capacity development and networking. Under his directorship, EDCTP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with WHO’s Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The number of African EDCTP Association member states increased from 16 to 21.
Prof. Bockarie’s passion for fighting neglected infectious diseases started with a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology from the University of Sierra Leone, followed by a Master’s and PhD degree in tropical health sciences from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the 1990s. This was followed by an appointment at the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, where he became Principal Research Fellow in Medical Entomology and Head of the Vector Borne Disease Unit in 1996. In 2005 he joined the Centre for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ohio, USA as Visiting Professor, where he continued his research on neglected diseases until his appointment at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), United Kingdom, in 2008, where he became Director of the Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Professor of Tropical Health Sciences until 2016.
In 2015, Prof. Bockarie became a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of EDCTP before he was appointed as Director of International Cooperation (Africa) and Head of Africa Office of the organisation in 2016. At the time of his retirement from EDCTP in April 2023, Prof. Bockarie is known to have achieved many scientific milestones with relevance to his service, including among others: Recipient of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Mackay Medal for outstanding work in tropical health; Chairmanship of the WHO/TDR Scientific Working Group for Vectors, Environment and Society; Membership of the WHO-AFRO Regional Programme Review Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases, and of the WHO Regional Expert Advisory Committee on Traditional Medicine for COVID-19; Appointment as adjunct Professor at Njala University, Bo, in Sierra Leone; and Honorary Professorship in the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
“On behalf of the EDCTP-Association, I wish to sincerely thank Prof. Bockarie for his infectious enthusiasm and commitment in leading the day-to-day running of the EDCTP Africa office and for deputizing and assisting the Executive Director function on activities related to African response and scientific matters, especially in neglected infectious diseases and capacity development in general. Inter alia, the increased participation of African countries in the EDCTP-Association attests to his great effort”
Dr Michael Makanga, EDCTP2 Executive Director
EDCTP wishes Professor Bockarie a good retirement and welcomes Dr Thomas Nyirenda who in addition to his duties as EDCTP’s Strategic Partnerships & Capacity Development Manager, will take up the role of Head of Africa Office from 1 May 2023.