EXECUTIVE BOARD 126th Session Agenda item 7.5
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Awards 1. Dr A.T. Shousha Foundation Prize – Report of the Dr A.T. Shousha Foundation Committee
The Dr A.T. Shousha Foundation Prize is awarded to a person having made the most significant contribution to any health problem in the geographical area in which Dr A.T. Shousha served WHO, namely the Eastern Mediterranean Region. During the fifty-sixth session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean (Fez, Morocco, 5–8 October 2009), the Dr A.T. Shousha Foundation Committee met on 6 October 2009, under the chairmanship of Ms Y. Baddou, Minister of Health, Morocco, and Dr K. Lahlou, Director of Population, Ministry of Health, Morocco (Chairman of the Regional Committee). The Committee reviewed nominations from Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the Lebanese Health Care Association. The Committee members studied thoroughly the curricula vitae and the background of the five candidates and recommended that the candidate from Saudi Arabia, Dr Faissal A.R.M. Shaheen, should be selected as the person to be proposed to the Executive Board at its 126th session as the recipient of the Prize. If the Board confirms the award, the laureate will receive the equivalent of Sw.Fr. 2500 in United States dollars. Dr Faissal Abdul Raheem Mohammed Shaheen is being honoured for his significant contribution to public health in Saudi Arabia, in particular the development of kidney services and organ transplantation. Dr Shaheen is Director of the Jeddah Kidney Center, King Fahd Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which he founded in 1990. The centre is the main referral institution for patients with renal diseases for the Western Region of the country, the largest dialysis centre in the Middle East and a leading kidney transplant centre. He also established the Prince Salman Kidney Diseases Center in 2001 to provide dialysis services in the Riyadh Region. Since 1993, Dr Shaheen has been Director-General of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, Riyadh, establishing it as a model for organ transplantation services in Islamic countries. Dr Shaheen has played a key role in establishing national laws, regulations and a retrieval system for organ transplantation. He has also contributed significantly to the wider development of regional and international policies on organ transplantation, and to training in nephrology and transplantation in the region. Dr Shaheen is the recipient of several international awards and prizes for achievements in nephrology and transplantation and has published
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more than 100 articles in the field. From 2004 to 2006 Dr Shaheen was President of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation.
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Sasakawa Health Prize – Report of the Sasakawa Health Prize Selection Panel
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 as the promotion of given health programmes or notable advances in primary health care, in order to encourage the further development of such work. The Sasakawa Health Prize Selection Panel met on 20 January 2010 under the chairmanship of Dr S. Zaramba (Uganda), Chairman of the Executive Board. The other Panel members were Professor Sohn Myongsei, member of the Executive Board for the Republic of Korea, and Professor K. Kiikuni, representing the Founder of the Prize. The Panel members carefully studied the curricula vitae and the background of the nine candidates, together with the Administrator’s technical comments on the candidatures. The Panel, bearing in mind the Statutes and guidelines governing the award of the Prize, unanimously decided to propose to the Executive Board that the 2010 Prize should be awarded to Dr Xueping Du, Director of the YueTan Community Health Service Center of FuXing Hospital, China. If the Board confirms the award, the laureate will receive US$ 30 000. A brief description of the work carried out by the proposed laureate is given below for the consideration of the Executive Board. Dr Xueping Du is Director of the YueTan Community Health Service Center of FuXing Hospital, affiliated to the Capital Medical University. She is being nominated by the Ministry of Health of China for contributing, since 1994, in a pioneering manner, to the development of general medicine in China, thus ensuring it has become an important discipline in the Chinese health-care system. In 1996, Dr Xueping Du established the first community health service centre in Beijing named the “Red Apple”. During the next 15 years, Dr Xueping Du and her team developed protocols for disease management for hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus and stroke. In addition, they established criteria for referrals which resulted in shortened hospital stays and improved transition from in-patient to out-patient care, leading to improved patient satisfaction and reduced costs for the health system. As a result of this work, public awareness of prevention and treatment for hypertension increased from 11% to 88%, and for diabetes mellitus from 5% to 75%. Dr Xueping Du has developed training programmes, which have improved the quality of general practitioners in China. In addition, she played an essential role in establishing, in 2000, the training base in FuXing Hospital to train general practitioners in Beijing. Some of Dr Xueping Du’s students have become general practitioners, working in the community-based health centres and are playing leading roles in both clinical work and academic programmes, assisting Dr Xueping Du in further developing community-based general practice in and outside Beijing. Dr Xueping Du has now extended her efforts to help to improve community health services in economically less-developed regions in the western part of China. Dr Xueping Du and her team have provided eight community-based rehabilitation training classes to doctors from 20 provinces and regions outside Beijing, thereby facilitating 141 doctors to put into practice what they have learnt and
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to start providing rehabilitation services to patients suffering from paralysis in their own communities. Dr Xueping Du has also provided training to nursing staff from all over China. With her team, Dr Xueping Du has, over the past eight years, organized an annual Beijing Symposium on Family Medicine and Community Health Services, which has led to the further development of community health services in China. Since 2004, she has also been involved in setting up exchange programmes with medical schools at the Universities of Wisconsin and Columbia, United States of America. If awarded the prize, Dr Xueping Du would invest the money to support her activities and those of her team, thereby allowing them to continue their efforts in further advancing general medicine and improving primary health-care delivery in China, including the development of community health services in minority areas in China and providing training to health personnel.
3.
United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize – Report of the United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Selection Panel
The United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize is awarded to a person or persons, an institution or institutions, or a nongovernmental organization or organizations that have made an outstanding contribution to health development. The United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Selection Panel met on 19 January 2010, under the chairmanship of Dr S. Zaramba (Uganda), Chairman of the Executive Board. Other Panel members present were Dr H. Abdesselem, member of the Executive Board for Tunisia, and Dr S. Al Darmaki, representing the Founder of the Prize. The Panel reviewed the documentation, together with the Administrator’s technical comments on the candidatures. Bearing in mind the Statutes and guidelines governing the award of the Prize, the Panel unanimously decided to propose to the Executive Board that the United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize for 2010 should be awarded to both the National Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics, Jordan, and the Early Childhood Intervention Programme, Regional Administration of Health of Alentejo, Portugal. If the Board confirms the award, the laureates will each receive US$ 20 000. A brief description of the work carried out by the proposed laureates is given below for the consideration of the Executive Board. The National Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics is one of the centres attached to the Higher Council for Science and Technology in Jordan, and its team provides care for about 35 000 patients. One of its objectives is health promotion education of patients, their family members and the general public. The National Center is the only recognized training centre for fellowships in endocrinology and metabolism in Jordan. It also provides training to the private sector, the Ministry of Health, the army and University Hospitals. Its graduates are qualified health-care professionals in diabetes care, including physicians, nurses and other related health sciences and the National Center provides access to regular training, workshops, symposiums and conferences to update skills and knowledge.
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The centre conducts scientific research and studies on the causes and treatment of the diseases, with a view to reduce the complications within the framework of a comprehensive national programme. It has set up cooperative activities with national and international centres and institutions, including WHO. The Early Childhood Intervention Programme is part of the implementation of the National Health Plan in Alentejo, Portugal, which responds to the reorganization of the health system through grouping health-care centres. The aim of this reorganization is to integrate the different levels of care, thus increasing the response to users and diminishing the waiting list for first medical consultations. Alentejo is the largest region in Portugal but has the lowest population density of the country at 20 inhabitants/km2. Although the country’s population is mainly settled in the capitals of the federal districts, there is still a large rural population, which is isolated geographically and socially. The Intervention Programme has innovative features. As a principle children with developmental disorders can be assessed, their needs evaluated and responded to best when they are kept within the family structure; application of this principle means involvement of the community, the participation of all appropriate local resources and ensuring good communication between all concerned parties. A sound partnership between education institutions, health-care and welfare systems and social solidarity private institutions as well as collaboration with the population has contributed to the success of the Programme. Some informal agreements are in place with educational colleges in Beja and Portalegre and with the Psychology Department of Evora University, which allow for research and training activities. An evaluation of the programme, done in collaboration with the Psychology Department of Evora University, showed that all involved had benefited from this intervention. Health-care centres gained recognition, thus empowerment, among the population for their capacity for early detection and referral to specific rehabilitation programmes. Children and their families also gained rapid support and intervention and felt less isolated in their situation.
4.
Ihsan Dogramaci Family Health Foundation Prize – Report of the Ihsan Dogramaci Family Health Foundation Selection Panel
The Ihsan Dogramaci Family Health Foundation Selection Panel met on 19 January 2010 under the chairmanship of Dr S. Zaramba (Uganda), Chairman of the Executive Board. The other Panel members were Professor P.L. Erdogan, appointee of Professor I. Dogramaci (the President of Bilkent University) and Professor M. Bertan, representing the International Children’s Center (Ankara). Following a thorough discussion, including on a concern regarding eligibility issues, the Panel concluded that it was not in a position to propose a candidate for the Prize in 2010. It was therefore decided not to propose any recipient for the 2010 Prize to the Executive Board. The Panel recommended that, in future consideration of candidates, WHO should determine whether by its rules the candidates are eligible, and should not forward to the Selection Panel any proposals for candidates ineligible under WHO’s rules.
5.
Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health – Report of the Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize Selection Panel
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
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made an outstanding contribution in the following areas: research into and prevention, treatment and control of HIV/AIDS; research into and control of communicable diseases; or control of neglected tropical diseases. The Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize Selection Panel met on 20 January 2010 under the chairmanship of Dr S. Zaramba (Uganda), Chairman of the Executive Board. The other Panel members were Ms P.T. Toelupe (alternate to Mrs G.A. Gidlow, member of the Executive Board for Samoa), and Ms Chung Kyeong-Hee, Representative of the Founder. The Panel reviewed the documentation, together with the Administrator’s technical comments on the candidatures. Bearing in mind the Statutes governing the award of the Prize, the Panel unanimously decided to propose to the Executive Board that the 2010 Prize should be awarded to Action for Aids (AfA), Singapore. If the Board confirms the award, the laureate will receive US$ 85 000. A brief description of the work carried out by the proposed laureate is given below for the consideration of the Executive Board. Action for AIDS Singapore is a voluntary, community-based organization, formed in 1988, and registered as a charity since 1994. Its objective is to provide support and assistance to persons living with HIV and AIDS; to increase awareness, education and understanding of AIDS and HIV infection; to combat discrimination and stigmatization of persons living with HIV and AIDS and their loved ones; and to encourage AIDS-related research activities in Singapore. The organization is run for the most part by volunteers and carries out many activities. Various support and welfare programmes are run for people living with HIV/AIDS and their loved ones. Their educational activities range from telephone counselling, public talks and exhibitions, and outreach to the community and target groups, which includes the development and distribution of educational materials and publications. Action for AIDS Singapore also operates an anonymous HIV-testing facility, launched in 1991. It has been involved in behavioural research and intervention programmes for human resource managers, sex workers and other communities. Action for AIDS Singapore is funded through donations from various agencies, private individuals, foundations, and businesses. The President of Action for AIDS Singapore, Professor Roy Chan, was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Gold Medal for 2009 by the Royal Society for Public Health.
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