Dr. Yassin Al-Qubati: 1997 YT Person of the Year [Archives:1998/01/Front Page]

Out of 42 nominations received, the Yemen Times Committee for Awarding the 1997 Person of the Year picked Dr. Yassin Abdul-Aleem Al-Qubati, citing exceptional work done for Yemen’s some 15,000 lepers. Yemeni social and cultural stigma against lepers is so strong that any person who catches the disease is totally and immediately removed from society and abandoned alone in some remote place awaiting death. Dr. Qubati, over the last twenty years, mobilized local and international support to address the plight of lepers. He has been able to build 3 medical and living quarters (the largest is in Taiz), to care for these wretched souls. Dr. Al-Qubati then embarked on a nation-wide media campaign to explain the disease, and how to interact with it. Dr. Qubati introduced medical measures to control the problem and to treat the patients. His efforts made a meaningful difference in the lives of so many – the lepers and their relatives and loved ones. Full story on p. 3
——
[archive-e:01-v:1998-y:1998-d:1998-01-05-p:./1998/iss01/front.htm]