René Labusquiere

René Labusquiere (26 September 1919 – 22 September 1977) was a French doctor who pioneered and led the implementation of preventive medicine to combat tropical diseases in Central and West Africa. He was the first Secretary-General of the Organization for Cooperation in the Fight against Major Endemic Diseases in Central Africa (l'OCEAC) and an officer of the Troupes de marine.

Career From 1946 to 1954, Labusquiere lived in French Cameroon and Ubangi-Shari. During this time in Africa, he participated in a mobile bush doctor program with a focus on combating tropical diseases. As a result of this experience, Labusquiere became interested in leprosy and enrolled in training programs on leprosy treatment in Guyana and Brazil. After publicly denouncing the injections as "useless, dangerous, and therefore uselessly dangerous," official histories of colonial medicine generally omitted this failed 1950s program.