Geneva, Switzerland, 27 May 2016 (PAHO-WHO) - The Federation of Medicus Mundi Spain today received the 2016 Sasakawa Health Prize for its 20 years of work strengthening the primary health care systems of Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru.
The organization was able to overcome cultural barriers that hindered access to health in indigenous populations by adapting to the unique demands of these patients (such as changing the way in which women gave birth) and closing cultural gaps (by teaching health workers the indigenous language), which translated into better health for the population, especially for women—including pregnant women—and children.
"We saw there was a big problem: there were large pockets of poverty in indigenous areas; there were cultural barriers to access," said Carlos Mediano, who represents Medicus Mundi Spain as vice president of the Executive Board of Medicus Mundi International, during his acceptance speech at the 69th World Health Assembly.
The efforts have paid off. For example, in Rabinal, a town of 45,000 in Guatemala's department of Baja Verapaz, child mortality dropped from 40.4 deaths per 1000 live births in 2013 to 14.85 deaths per 1000 live births in 2015, according to Mediano.
The Sasakawa Health Prize was established in 1984 upon the initiative and with funds provided by Mr. Ryoichi, Chairman of the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation and President of the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation. The Prize consists of a statuette and a sum of the order of US$ 100,000 to be given to one or more persons, institutions, or nongovernmental organizations that have accomplished outstanding, innovative work in health development, in order to encourage the further development of such work.
"The improved coverage of and equitable access to health care in rural and indigenous communities has been achieved by strengthening public primary health care in accordance with the Federation's 'Model of integrated and inclusive health' which has been designed as a long-term strategy to promote the reform of the health system based on rights and through integrated comprehensive care aimed at reducing inequalities", states WHO in its rationale for awarding the Prize to the Spanish organization.
The Federation of Medicus Mundi Spain proposes to use the prize money to continue to contribute to the strengthening of public health systems in Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru. This will include scientific research on the impact of the project on the health systems of the four countries.
Created in 1963 by a group of health professionals from Barcelona, Medicus Mundi is an international organization for cooperation that works in defense of health as a fundamental component of human rights, based on the promotion of primary health care and on the defense of public health systems that guarantee equitable, universal, and quality health care to all, without regard to race, sex, religion, or economic status.
Other prizes
In addition to the Sasakawa Health Prize, each year, the World Health Assembly presents other awards to recognize experience and achievements in the field of public health.
The prizes were created by, or set up in memory of, eminent health professionals. Each year, national health administrations and any former prize recipient can submit a nomination. The Executive Board, in its January session, designates the winners based on recommendations made by the selection panel of each foundation awarding a prize.
Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London, won US$ 20,000 for his work in family health, which was recognized by the Ihsan Dogramaci Family Health Foundation.
The United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize of US$ 20,000 went to Dr. Palize Mehmett, 52, who has focused on basic public health initiatives in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. For nearly 3 decades, she has crisscrossed a 167-square kilometer area in Xinjiang, visiting 97 counties and cities and more than 300 villages populated largely by Muslims.
Dr. Michal Novák, Director of the Institute of Neuroimmunology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease of Slovakia, received the His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for Research in Health Care for the Elderly and in Health Promotion, a new award being offered this year, for more than 30 years of work on Alzheimer's disease, including his discovery of the tau protein as a likely cause of the disease and by his work in developing a therapeutic vaccine, which is in clinical trials.
The Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health was awarded to Dr. Alireza Mesdaghinia of the Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
