World Health Organization Organisation mondiale de la Santé FIFTY-FIRST WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY A51/DIV/12 15 May 1998
Citation Award of the World Health Organization Health-for-All Gold Medal to Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton First Lady of the United States of America Born in Chicago in October 1947, Hillary Diane Rodham entered Wellesley College in 1965, and graduated with high honours from that institution before commencing legal studies at Yale Law School where she developed her strong concern for protecting the interests of children and their families, with particular attention to women’s health and development. In 1973, Mrs Clinton became a staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund, before being appointed to the law faculty of the University of Arkansas. She served as First Lady of that State for 12 years, and was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984, in recognition of her professional and personal achievements. Mrs Clinton has been a tireless advocate on children’s issues. As Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Defense Fund for several years, she has been at the forefront of many major initiatives to improve the lives of children and families. As First Lady of Arkansas, she successfully led efforts for increased investment in early childhood development, culminating in a programme that has become a national model and has had a significant role in improving the health of families and children throughout the country. Mrs Clinton also confronted the problems of teenage pregnancy and infant mortality in Arkansas, reducing the rate of the latter from one of the highest to one of the lowest in the United States. The First Lady has shown unswerving support for low-income and other vulnerable constituencies. Time and again, Hillary Rodham Clinton has been a steady, reliable and thoughtful voice for people who are poor and in need of help. Her causes have included measures to encourage childhood immunization and to streamline the delivery of services to families and children. Mrs Clinton has demonstrated that the heart of these serious problems is not lack of resources but lack of will. Mrs Clinton is perhaps best known for her work as the Chair of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform in the United States. In promoting access to health care as a basic right for all, Mrs Clinton became one of the most effective advocates for universal coverage that her country has ever known. Her recommendations were consistent with the view that health care coverage should be comprehensive, job-linked, and cost-controlled. Seeking advice from leaders in the field of public health, medical care and social services delivery, she emerged
A51/DIV/12
with a plan that not only set forth the goal of universal coverage but recommended a comprehensive plan for achieving that goal. In her capacity as the First Lady of her country, Mrs Clinton has travelled throughout the world, constantly seeking to educate both herself and others about the problems faced by women and children in their efforts to achieve health and social well-being. The World Health Organization is privileged to present the Health-for-All Gold Medal to Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton, First Lady of the United States of America, in recognition of her outstanding contributions towards the attainment of the social goal of health for all, with particular reference to vulnerable, and potentially vulnerable groups, in the United States of America.
Hiroshi Nakajima, M.D., Ph.D. Director-General World Health Organization 14 May 1998
=
=
=
2