Dr Wim H van Brakel

Dr Wim H van Brakel

Dr Wim van Brakel holds a medical degree from the University of Amsterdam, an MSc in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from the London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and a PhD in leprosy nerve damage from Utrecht University. He has worked in Nepal and India for 17 years in leprosy control and research; six of these as part of TLM International and the then TLM South Asia Regional Office.

Dr van Brakel worked for the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam from 2003 to 2012, supporting the leprosy projects of NLR in many countries. During this period he served for 2 terms on the TLM International Board. Since 2013, he has been directly employed by NLR, first as Head of the Technical Department and then as Medical Director. He is due to retire from this position in mid-October 2025. Dr van Brakel has been a member of the Steering Committee of the Leprosy Research Initiative since its inception in 2013. He is currently Secretary of the International Leprosy Association, Chair of the WHO Skin NTD Working Group on Epidemiology and Surveillance and former chair of the ILEP Technical Commission and the NNN DMDI Cross-Cutting Group.

Dr van Brakel is passionate about working towards a world free of leprosy and other NTDs through preventive chemotherapy, improved surveillance and prevention of disabilities, stigma reduction, capacity building of health staff and researchers, and adequate attention for the psychosocial consequences