Shaik Khader Noordeen

Shaik Khader Noordeen (1933 – 17 August 2021) was an Indian leprologist from Chennai, India. He was the director of the WHO’s Action Programme for the Elimination of Leprosy from 1994 to 1998, and in recognition of his work, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009.

Early life and education Shaik Khader Noordeen was born in Keeranur, Madras Presidency on 1 July 1933. He pursued medical studies at Stanley Medical College, Madras, where he earned his M.B.B.S. degree. He specialised in public health, obtaining a Diploma in Public Health (D.P.H.) from the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Calcutta, and later a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) from the University of Michigan, USA, in 1963. At CLTRI, he conducted research in epidemiology, clinical leprosy, prevention, and rehabilitation, collaborating with noted experts like Dr. Hariharan Srinivasan. He played an important role in adopting World Health Assembly Resolution 44.9 in 1991, which set the ambitious goal of eliminating leprosy as a public health problem by 2000. Later, he became the director of WHO Action Programme for the Elimination of Leprosy (1994–1998).

He was also a Founding Trustee and Chair of the Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation and a member of the Technical Resource Group of India’s National Leprosy Eradication Program. Padma Shri (2009)

Legacy Noordeen died on 17 August 2021 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.