Joseph Kamgno received the medal of Knight of the Order of Merit this week from the French ambassador to Cameroon, Thierry Marchand.
This diplomatic representation indicates that this award salutes “the immense contribution to scientific progress, particularly in the area of tropical diseases” of the Cameroonian researcher. This epidemiologist is recognized worldwide for his research on onchocerciasis, presented as a neglected tropical disease. For this, he received the Christophe Mérieux Prize in 2022. He continues his work within the Research Center on Filariasis and Other Tropical Diseases (CRFilMT), which he directs.
The French embassy also added that this medal is deserved because Joseph Kamgno “trained French scientists and thus participated in making Cameroonian and French research flourish.” Finally, this diplomatic representation also indicates that this award also helps to strengthen the local partnership.
Since his arrival in Cameroon in October 2022, Thierry Marchand has been carrying out local diplomacy with the aim of establishing a stronger relationship between France and Cameroon, as indicated by a source close to the embassy. The same source recalls that this is what explains why the French diplomat went to meet the Cameroonians last year. Like in January 2023 when he goes to the edge of the Dja reserve in southern Cameroon.
SBBC