Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Public Health awarded during the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly

During a touching ceremony at the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly in Geneva, awards were presented to a group of individuals from around the world for their outstanding contributions to public health.

Opening the award ceremony, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said: “The 2022 Public Health Awards and Prizes celebrate people and institutions for successfully addressing a huge range of health challenges around the world. We are honored to gather and pay tribute to these true champions of health. I thank the foundations and institutions that so generally support these awards. ”

Many of the awards have been established, or established in memory of eminent public health experts.

A call for nominations for each award is sent out each year after the World Health Assembly closes. Nominations can be submitted by the national health administrations of the WHO member state and all former award recipients. The winners for 2022 were selected at the 150th session of the Executive Board, in January 2022, based on recommendations made by special commissions to select each award.

Winners of awards for 2022

Ihsan Doğramacı, Family Health Foundation Award

Award winner: Professor Mehmet Haberal, Turkey

A pioneer in general surgery, transplantation and burn treatment, Professor Haberal helped establish the legal framework for organ transplantation in Turkey, while increasing its social acceptability through a holistic approach to family and community health, working with families of terminally ill patients and religious leaders. His leadership and cooperation with national, regional and world institutions have led to the creation of numerous organ transplant centers in Turkey and the training of many health professionals interested in this field of work.

Sasakawa Health Award

Award winner: Dr. Paisan Ruamviboonsuk, Thailand

An ophthalmologist specializing in retinal eye care, Dr. Ruamviboonsuk, has for the past 25 years focused on tackling another leading cause of blindness in Thailand – diabetic retinopathy. He invented and began to use a special screening method, and then launched an initiative to train neophthalmic staff to use it and be able to correctly detect retinopathy everywhere in Thailand, even in the most remote areas. As a result of his work, screening for diabetic retinopathy is now a state program run by the Ministry of Public Health, free for all.

United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Award

Award winner: Nicaraguan Malaria Control Network

The National Malaria Component of the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health’s Citizens ’Power, along with the Community Volunteer Network (ColVol), has been key in implementing the national malaria control program for more than 50 years. The community of local health professionals focused on the surveillance, diagnosis and treatment of malaria in the municipality of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, ColVol are leaders in community engagement, reaching remote and ethnically diverse communities. The burden of malaria disease has decreased significantly in the communities they serve.

His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Award for Research in Health Care for the Elderly and Health Promotion

Winner: Dr. Hanadi Khamis Mubarak Al Hamad, Qatar

Qatar’s National Head for Healthy Aging at the Ministry of Public Health and Senior Clinical Head for Geriatric, Long-Term Care and Rehabilitation Services, Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad led the development of innovative programs such as geriatric virtual clinics for the elderly and the Emergency Day Qatar. As a result of her outstanding work, there has been a 20% increase in bed capacity for long-term care; mobile and home care services are now fully integrated; a dedicated website for older people now provides information on healthy aging; and community-based rehabilitation and memory clinic services have expanded to the primary care level.

Dr. LEE Jong-wook Memorial Award for Public Health

Award winners: Professor Prakit Vathesatogkit, Thailand and Center for Severe Hypothermia Treatment, Poland

Professor Prakit Vathesatogkit, Thailand
Professor Vathesatogkit, Executive Secretary of the Action on Smoking and Health Foundation (ASH) since 1986 and a member of the National Tobacco Control Committee at the Thai Ministry of Public Health, has dedicated his professional life to tobacco control, resulting not only in improved treatment and care protocols. patients, but also in an impressive array of tobacco control measures, including tobacco taxes and restrictions on tobacco advertising and sponsorship in sport. Professor Vathesatogkit is a pioneer in advocating for these measures and works in all sectors, engaging the general public and developing and strengthening networks.

Severe Hypothermia Treatment Center, Poland
The Polish Center for the Treatment of Severe Hypothermia was the first Polish institution dedicated to the treatment of hypothermic patients and one of the first medical centers in the world dedicated to the treatment of accidental hypothermia. Dr. Tomasz Darocha, an expert in the field of extracorporeal therapy, and Dr. Sylweriusz Kosiński, a specialist in anesthesiology and intensive care, founded the Center. The Center for the Treatment of Severe Hypothermia has launched numerous research and development projects to devise modern technological solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of hypothermia. They did a revolutionary job of training emergency services in mountain rescue teams to save lives.

A large group of physicians and professionals working at the Center combine medical and research work with social work, recognizing the problem of “urban hypothermia” and the social dimension of accidental hypothermia. This includes attention to the need to raise awareness of those at risk of hypothermia, such as people in homelessness or poverty situations.

Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion

Award winner: Dr. Wu Zunyou, China

The chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Zunyou Wu, is recognized for his achievements in the field of HIV / AIDS prevention, such as innovative evidence-based policies he has built to reach the most HIV-sensitive groups. AIDS. He was a pioneer in designing, piloting, and expanding a program to spread the public among sex workers, and established China’s first needle exchange program and the first large-scale opioid replacement therapy. The impact of these measures has been significant: drug users now account for 1% of all HIV infections in China, up from half in 2004.

As a result of Dr. Wu’s work, HIV testing is now a key prevention tool among all vulnerable groups, with about 300 million tests conducted in China in 2020. Dr. Wu’s recommendations on field interventions for vulnerable groups have become national policy.