Dedication: Dr Jeroen Ensink
This special edition of Field Exchange is dedicated to the memory of Dr Jeroen Ensink, Senior Lecturer in Public Health Engineering at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), who died on Tuesday 29 December 2015. Dr Jeroen Ensink was co-author on research summarised in this issue (Loevinsohn M et al, 2015) and ENN extend sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues for their tragic loss.
Jeroen was an internationally renowned water engineer and dedicated humanitarian. He was passionately committed to a simple cause: improving access to water and sanitation in countries where children continue to die needlessly due to the lack of these basic services.
As a researcher and educator, Jeroen’s career crossed many continents. He lived and worked in countries including Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Tanzania and Malawi, and collaborated with numerous universities and international agencies. He devoted particular effort to building local research capacity in developing countries. His own research was rigorous but always practical. He published over 50 scientific papers and, at the time of his death, was leading a large study in the Democratic Republic of Congo to understand how improvements in water supply and other measures could control and prevent cholera outbreaks.
Jeroen was a natural teacher, and immensely popular with students in whom he invested much time and energy. He was Course Director on the School’s Master’s degree in Public Health in Developing Countries. He provided support and inspiration in equal measure and many of his students are now successful researchers and public health professionals in their own right. In addition to a flood of tributes from his many collaborators, WaterLines, a major journal in his field, will publish a collection of dedicated papers in April and announce an annual prize in his memory.
At the request of Jeroen’s family and colleagues, the LSHTM has established the Jeroen Ensink Memorial Fund to support MSc Scholarships for students from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to become future leaders in public health. Those who would like to make a gift to the fund should contact Bill Friar, Head of Development.
Loevinsohn, M; Mehta, L; Cuming, K; Nicol, A; Cumming, O; Ensink, JH (2015). The cost of a knowledge silo: a systematic re-review of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions. Health policy and planning. Health Policy and Planning 30:660–674, first published online May 29, 2014 doi: 10.1093/heapol/czu039