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New Japanese award for public health commitment in Africa

9 Apr 2008

Joao Souza

Source: World Health Organization (see original article)

The 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) to be held in May 2008 will, for the first time, see the award of a new prize given by the Japanese Foreign Ministry to individuals who have made outstanding achievements in the field of medical research and medical services within the African continent.

The two recipients of the inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize – to be bestowed every five years – are Dr Brian Greenwood, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), in the UK, and Dr Miriam K.Were, of the charitable trust the UZIMA Foundation, in Kenya.

The prize, consisting of a citation, a medal and an honorarium of 100 million yen (US$ 844,000) is named after the eminent Japanese bacteriologist Dr Hideyo Noguchi (1876-1928). In 1913, Noguchi proved in the United States that the Treponema pallidum was the causal agent of syphilis. Five years later, he travelled extensively in Central and South America doing research on polio, trachoma and yellow fever. Ironically, Noguchi would be killed by the latter, more than a decade later, in the course of his African research in the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana). The two awardees also have an impressive list of achievements.

Dr Brian Greenwood

Dr Greenwood has spent more than 30 years in Africa, half of this time being as director of the MRC Laboratories in Gambia. He has in particular made great contributions in the field of malaria research. He was actively involved in the demonstration of the effectiveness of insecticide-treated nets as a vector control tool – nowadays considered to be one of the major cost-effective preventive measures against the disease, mobilizing many donor agencies worldwide.

Dr Greenwood has also conducted primary studies on artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which are currently adopted as first-line treatment to fight plasmodium resistance, as well as studies which have demonstrated the link between chemoprevention and child mortality reduction. He has made substantial contributions to several malaria vaccine trials, including the RTS,S.

In a press statement in London, Dr Greenwood commented: ‘I am very proud to have been awarded this prestigious prize which honours the memory of Dr Noguchi and which recognizes my contribution to medical research in Africa’, adding, ‘This could not have been achieved without the support of many colleagues in Africa whose work is also honoured by this award.’

Dr Miriam K. Were

Dr Were has dedicated 40 years of her life to improving the welfare of the people of Africa through a community-based ‘hands-on’ approach to health and sanitary issues. Her work includes building public toilet facilities, organizing children into small groups in order to visit local clinics – overcoming taboos and enlightening them about the benefits of vaccination.

Dr Were has also engaged closely with the African Union and acted as a key health adviser to the African Heads of State on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. As the chairperson of Kenya’s National AIDS Control Council, she demonstrated her personal work style, engaging in direct and open discussions with sex workers, homosexuals and intravenous drug users, helping to enable a consistent reduction of HIV prevalence and AIDS-related mortality in Kenya.

More recently, Dr Were has collaborated with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) – the largest African health NGO – in its work to expand the medical services provided to rural Kenyan communities. She also became co-founder and director of the UZIMA Foundation, created to tackle drug addiction amongst young people.

‘Awards such as these honour excellence and dedication’, said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan on an institutional statement. ‘But they also draw attention to the importance of improving health in Africa and this is a top priority for WHO. I am delighted to congratulate the Government of Japan for this award which will hopefully ignite the imaginations and give courage to others to join in this vital work.’

Dr Luis G. Sambo, the Director of the WHO Regional Office for Africa, added: ‘There are thousands of other individuals working all across Africa every day. They are demonstrating every day that the hard work of individuals does make a significant contribution to improving health. With improved health comes stronger communities and stronger economies.’

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