Awards

SEVENTY-FOURTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY A74/INF./1 Provisional agenda item 7 19 April 2021 Awards 1. At its 148th session, in January 2021, the Executive Board adopted a number of decisions awarding prizes to individuals or entities in recognition of their outstanding contributions to public health development.1 2. An award ceremony for the following four prizes is scheduled to take place during the plenary meeting of the Seventy-fourth World Health Assembly on Friday, 28 May 2021: the Sasakawa Health Prize will be presented to Dr Wu Hao (China) and Dr Amal Saif Al-Maani (Oman); the His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for Research in Health Care for the Elderly and in Health Promotion will be presented to the National Center for Gerontology (China); the Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health will be presented to the State Institution, “The National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine” (Ukraine); and the Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion will be presented to the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), (Thailand). 3. Many of the prizes have been established by, or set up in memory of, an eminent health personality or an individual with a legacy in the field of health. The call for nominations of candidates for each prize is sent out each year after closure of the Health Assembly session, and nominations can be made by national health administrations of a Member State of WHO and by any former recipient of the prizes. The recipients of the prizes are designated by the Executive Board during its first annual session, on the basis of recommendations made by the selection panel for each prize. 4. Over the years, the prizes have been awarded to a wide range of recipients: well-known scientists and researchers; other dedicated individuals or entities who have greatly contributed through their work to the advancement of public health; and to institutions caring for the health of local communities. 5. Further information on the prizes and on the 2021 recipients is provided in the Annex to the present document.2 1 See decisions EB148(14), EB148(15), EB148(16) and EB148(17) (2021). 2 See also the information on awards on the WHO website (https://apps.who.int/gb/awards/, accessed 6 April 2021). A74/INF./1 2 ANNEX PRIZES AWARDED IN 2021 1. Sasakawa Health Prize The Sasakawa Health Prize is awarded to a person or persons, an institution or institutions, or a nongovernmental organization or organizations having accomplished outstanding innovative work in health development. Such work includes the promotion of given health programmes or notable advances in primary health care. There are two laureates for the 2021 prize: Dr Wu Hao (China) and Dr Amal Saif Al-Maani (Oman). Dr Wu Hao is Director of the Fangzhuang Community Health Service Center in the Beijing region, a general practice chief physician and professor of general medicine. He is a national expert in health popularization, who combines his experience of international family medicine with China’s national context and the current situation of primary health care services. As a leader in innovation, he has developed an intelligent family physician-optimized collaborative model (IFOCM), which is a collaborative and integrated human-centred and information technology-based service for family physicians, based on “smart” health care. This standardized program has been adapted and applied during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. As a professor in the Department of General Medicine of Capital Medical University in Beijing, Dr Wu has been committed to: training, to enlarge the pool of family physicians, and to improving the basic medical and health service system in poor areas in China; ensuring equal access to primary health care nationwide; and promoting better health at the community level. An example of this is the fact his team trains nearly 5000 family physicians a year. Notably, in the past five years Dr Wu has carried out more than 20 national-, provincial- and ministerial-level projects related to medicine and has published over 70 journal articles. Dr Wu’s efforts have increased in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early days of the epidemic in China, Dr Wu joined a group of experts who put forward the policy recommendation of taking region-specific and multi-level approaches by classifying the risk in different counties. He has also developed and delivered online training modules to community epidemic prevention workers. Dr Amal Saif Al-Maani, Director of the Central Department of Infection Prevention and Control in the Ministry of Health in Oman, is a paediatric infectious disease and infection control expert with a specific focus on developing the care of children, public health and national infection control, and responding to antimicrobial resistance and emerging pathogens. Dr Al-Maani has established the national infection control programme and drafted a code of practice for the programme, as well as related policies and guidelines. She has led one of the largest campaigns to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance through a multisectoral approach, with a particular emphasis on engaging the community. Of particular note, she established a system for antimicrobial resistance surveillance at the national level, which enabled Oman to become part of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System, in which she currently serves as a focal point. Dr Al-Maani has also led work on paediatric tuberculosis and HIV and has created a transitional clinic for adolescents with HIV as they transition to adult care at the Royal Hospital in Muscat. Dr Al-Maani’s research has been widely published. Recently, and with significant impact, she has led the national infection response efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is a member of the technical advisory group for the national response committee. Annex A74/INF./1 3 2. The State of Kuwait Health Promotion Foundation’s His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for Research in Health Care for the Elderly and in Health Promotion The His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for Research in Health Care for the Elderly and in Health Promotion is awarded to a person or persons, an institution or institutions, or a nongovernmental organization or organizations who have made an outstanding contribution to research in the areas of health care for the elderly and in health promotion. The 2021 laureate of the prize is the National Center for Gerontology (China). The National Center for Gerontology has been in operation since 2015 and is responsible for the prevention and control of ageing-related health conditions and diseases in China, primarily through: developing national strategies; leading critical research; promoting the health of elderly people in remote areas; training of health professionals; and international exchange activities in the area of ageing. A core focus of the Center’s work includes health education and health promotion for older people. In this regard, it has provided over 1600 training courses to medical personnel. In the past five years, it has delivered 1200 study courses to over 60 000 participants. Health professionals from underdeveloped areas are also accepted on training courses in Beijing on public health without charge. Research areas that the Center has focused on include mechanisms of ageing, ageing markers, patterns of health status in older age, and health promotion and maintenance of functional ability of older people. The Center is also responsible for publishing five journals and developed the National Plan for the Elderly Health Service System (2019–2022). Building on its extensive research and capacity-building efforts in this area, it has established the Geriatric Health University and the Moroccan College of the Geriatric Health University, which specialize in disease management and medication for elderly populations. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center has adapted and has developed an additional set of online courses. Notably, in the past five years, the Center has undertaken more than 500 projects, some of them gaining the China Medical Science and Technology Award. In addition, the Center launched a medical consortium introducing the concept of diagnosis at the community level and rehabilitation back into the community following hospitalization. 3. Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health The Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health is awarded to a person or persons, an institution or institutions, a governmental or nongovernmental organization or organizations, who have made an outstanding contribution to public health. The 2021 laureate of the prize is the State Institution “The National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine” (Ukraine). The National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine was established after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in April 1986 and started its work in October 1986. It is the primary institution in Ukraine dealing with clinical and technical research investigations into the Chernobyl accident with a focus on radiation medicine, radiobiology, radiation hygiene and radiation epidemiology. The Center’s main objectives include: the determination of the medical and radiobiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident; the examination of their impact on the health of the population of Ukraine; the development of a strategy for preserving the health of the affected population in the future; the radiological monitoring of radioactive contaminated zones; and the development and implementation of long-term State measures to overcome the consequences of the A74/INF./1 Annex 4 Chernobyl accident. Through the Center’s efforts, for the first time in the world, radiobiology and radiation risks in the molecular mechanisms of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia have been identified. Given its unique and technical expertise in radiation monitoring, the Center has developed significant registers and databases, which include over 50 000 measurements in radiation compounds, demonstrating the extensive efforts of the Center in this regard. In addition, during 2004–2019 the Center provided crucial medical and biophysical support that enabled the transformation of the Shelter of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant into an environmentally safe system and the construction of the New Safe Confinement. The Centre’s tireless and diligent efforts have provided the international community with crucial knowledge and lessons learned from the Chernobyl accident. 4. Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion The Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion is awarded to a person or persons, an institution or institutions, a governmental or nongovernmental organization or organizations, who or which has/have made a significant contribution to health promotion. The 2021 laureate of the prize is the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), (Thailand). The Thai Health Promotion Foundation has been instrumental in advancing health promotion in Thailand and globally over the past 20 years. Pursuant to the Thai Health Promotion Foundation Act (2001), the objectives of the Foundation include: to promote health among Thai people of all ages in accordance with national health policy; to reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; to develop community capacity in health promotion; and to carry out studies and research and develop knowledge on health promotion. The Foundation uses its innovative and sustainable funds to strategically support over 2000 health promotion programmes and projects per year across 15 “plans” or strategic priority areas. These include issue-related initiatives, such as tobacco and alcohol control, road safety and disaster management, healthy diet and the promotion of physical activity. The Foundation supports WHO’s healthy settings approach, such as health promotion in communities, workplaces, schools and families. It also supports initiatives targeted at vulnerable populations, and collaboration between the health sector and other sectors that have a huge impact on health. The achievements of these initiatives are wide ranging, including: the introduction of many pro-health initiatives and laws, including the Thailand Alcohol Control Act (2008) and the establishment of a ThaiHealth happy workplace model, which has now been adopted in over 2000 public and private organizations; shifting social norms towards more inclusive principles in which their initiatives helped over 5000 people with disabilities secure employment in 2017–2020; and leading in promoting an effective model for innovative health financing, which has seen over 20 000 multisectoral partners joining the Foundation in strategic action for health promotion. = = =