Dr. Gagan Singh Sonal dedicated his entire professional life towards improving the public health in India. He rose from a very humble background in rural Pithoragarh and made it to AIIMS for his medical education and subsequently retired as the Director of Vector-Borne Disease Control Program/ Malaria Eradication program in Ministry of Health.  

 

Born in 1960 in a  small remote village, Dugtu of Uttarakhand (current population of 234 people, and  still inaccessible by road), Gagan was exceptionally bright  from early childhood. He had to  daily walk long distances by foot to reach his school  located far away from his village.  Undaunted by these hardships,  he persisted and excelled in his school in both educational and extra-curricular activities. He had exceptional skill of writing, drama and public speaking and he became popular among the locals of that area in his native town. He wanted to  become an actor, however,  due to economic hardships facing his family, his father insisted that Gagan become a doctor to  help with the upbringing of his 3 siblings and  help take care of his  ailing mother.  To fulfil his father’s dream, Gagan worked hard and travelled far away from home and excelled in his efforts , gaining admission into  MBBS in 1980 at AIIMS , New Delhi.  

After completing MBBS and MD in community medicine at AIIMS, Gagan Singh Sonal joined Ministry of health and family welfare, National malaria eradication programme, now National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) in 1993 as Assistant Director (specialist) and reached till the post of Additional Director and served thereuntil October 2016. After retirement, Gagan continued to use his skills and expertise by serving those in need by joining WHO as a consultant and working in DPR Korea (North Korea) until the Covid pandemic in 2021.

Gagan Singh Sonal’s entire career was dedicated to the efforts of eradicating Malaria from the India. He received widespread recognition nationwide for his contribution to field of Malaria and its eradication. 

Gagan came down with COVID-19 during the peak Delta variant spread in India, and despite a heroic fight to overcome the disease, he passed away untimely on 23rd May, 2021.