Born in Belgium in 1902, Hemerijckx was an eminent physician engaged in the fight against leprosy for more than forty years in Africa and India. He received the Damien-Dutton Award in 1968. He helped to establish the Dikumgu leprosarium in the Belgian Congo in 1933 and in 1955 he established a leprosy centre in India at the request of Belgium’s King Leopold III. He made extensive surveys in Thailand, Afghanistan and Korea in order to help them upgrade their leprosy facilities.
International Journal of Leprosy, Centennial Festskrift edition, Vol 41, No 2. 1973.