Vijaykumar Pannikar is a public health physician from India who dedicated nearly four decades to global leprosy control through his work with the World Health Organization. He served as Medical Officer and later Team Leader of the WHO Global Leprosy Programme, where he played a key role in developing international strategies for leprosy elimination and control. His work contributed to the global implementation of multidrug therapy (MDT), integration of leprosy services into general health systems, and strengthening of early case detection and disability prevention programmes worldwide.

He has been actively involved in formulating WHO global strategies for leprosy, providing technical guidance to endemic countries, and supporting national leprosy control programmes across Asia and other regions. Even after retirement, he has continued to contribute as an expert advisor to global leprosy initiatives.

Leprosy control and elimination, epidemiology, multidrug therapy (MDT), early case detection, disability prevention, peripheral nerve involvement, and public health programme implementation.