Korean doctor to fight off endemics in East Timor

By Yi Whan-woo

Song Jin-su, a doctor specialized in infectious diseases, has been named to lead a joint project run by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to fight tropical diseases in East Timor, according to KOICA, Wednesday.

KOICA, a development aid organization under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Song, 40, will be tasked with curbing the two most prevalent endemics in East Timor — lymphatic filarisis and yaws.

He will leave for East Timor by the end of the month and is scheduled to work at the WHO office there until 2021.

“I’ll return after rooting out onchocerciasis and yaws completely in the region in line with the WHO goal,” Song said. “If the project succeeds, Korea will be highly assessed in history as a country that conquered the two diseases and I will serve my job with responsibility and sense of duty.”

Lymphatic filarisis and yaws are called “neglected tropical diseases” for not being fatal. But they can result in permanent physical disability and disfiguring if preventive medical care is not given.

“The diseases leave social stigmata on the patients although the WHO has deemed that they can be prevented if sanitary conditions are sustained with support from the international community,” Song said. “Those neglected tropical diseases can be cured if medical attention is given in the early stages. I know eradicating a disease is not an easy job but I am trying to think positively in carrying out my duty.”

He plans to offer relevant medicine to the 120,000 East Timorese population twice a year, run a nationwide campaign on sanitation and monitor their health conditions regularly.

He will be accompanied by his wife and two sons aged six and three, respectively.

Song admitted that he could get a better-paid job at a large and reputable hospital in Korea, referring to his elite educational background.

He earned a doctorate degree and master’s of science in medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine, a master of public health at Harvard School of Public Health and a distinction in the study of tropical medicine and hygiene at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom.

“I’d say there is volunteer service DNA in me and that has directed me to head to East Timor,” he said. “There are many infectious disease specialists in Korea who can replace me, and thus, it will make sense that I go to places where my skills are absolutely needed. I like my job although it’s risky and not well paid.”