Venezuelan Doctor Jacinto Convit, considered to be one of the world’s leading figures in the fight against leprosy, explains how he began his career and some of his greatest achievements. “Leprosy was a serious problem because it was considered to be untreatable,” recalls the doctor, who developed a vaccine against the disease.
A finalist for the 1988 Nobel Prize in Medicine because of his major contributions, Convit also has conducted cancer studies at the Venezuelan Biomedicine Institute, which he founded and continues to direct. He also recalls with deep satisfaction the recognition in 2003 as Public Health Hero of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), WHO Regional Office for the Americas, as part of the organization’s centennial celebration.