--- description: Find out why Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. title: Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9176a20172eaaded/698a124f09208f8f644172e1/time-100-Jean-Jacques-Muyembe-Tamfum.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 22, 2020 # Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum by Denis Mukwege  Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), Jean-Jacques Muyembe from Democratic Republic of Congo poses on May 28, 2015 in Paris. Dr Muyembe received the 2015 Christophe Merieux Prize for his search on Ebola. AFP PHOTO / MATTHIEU ALEXANDRE (Photo credit should read MATTHIEU ALEXANDRE/AFP via Getty Images) Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), Jean-Jacques Muyembe from Democratic Republic of Congo poses on May 28, 2015 in Paris. Dr Muyembe received the 2015 Christophe Merieux Prize for his search on Ebola. AFP PHOTO / MATTHIEU ALEXANDRE (Photo credit should read MATTHIEU ALEXANDRE/AFP via Getty Images)Matthieu Alexandre—AFP/Getty Images [Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum](https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/96/12/18-031218/en/ "undefined") is a fellow Congolese citizen and medical colleague for whom I have great respect. His fight against Ebola, from helping discover the virus in 1976 through the recent outbreak from 2018 to 2020, has greatly benefited the people of Congo as well as the entire world. Dr. Muyembe took exemplary action to battle [misinformation](https://time.com/5870464/coronavirus-pandemic-misinformation/ "undefined") and [public mistrust of vaccine therapies](https://time.com/5609984/vaccine-trust-worldwide/ "undefined"), and pioneered new containment techniques for the devastating virus, thus strengthening the medical and scientific commitment of an entire generation. For five decades, he has been a model of excellence for humanity as he gives hope to the most vulnerable. Dr. Muyembe is among the exceptional men who advance science and truly make a difference. We are confronted constantly with health challenges, but I am convinced that his expertise, combined with that of other international scientists, will continue to be of great help in overcoming new scourges that we face, like [COVID-19](https://time.com/5800901/coronavirus-map/ "undefined"). Even beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr. Muyembe’s many contributions to medicine make him a treasure for the world. I applaud his work, dedication and perseverance. _Mukwege is a gynecologist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888331/jean-jacques-muyembe-tamfum/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888331/jean-jacques-muyembe-tamfum/"},"headline":"Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum","datePublished":"2020-09-22T17:55:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:19.495Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888331/jean-jacques-muyembe-tamfum/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Leaders"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9176a20172eaaded/698a124f09208f8f644172e1/time-100-Jean-Jacques-Muyembe-Tamfum.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9176a20172eaaded/698a124f09208f8f644172e1/time-100-Jean-Jacques-Muyembe-Tamfum.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888331/jean-jacques-muyembe-tamfum/","name":"Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum"}}]}] ```