Thread by @WHO

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Six prizes were presented at #WHA75 to 7 remarkable individuals & health entities institutions from across the globe, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to public health and development.
Find out more about the 2022 awards bit.ly/WHA75Awards

Professor Mehmet Haberal from #Turkey receives this year’s Ihsan Doğramaci Family Health Foundation award, which recognizes an individual or a group for their service in the field of family health #WHA75 bit.ly/WHA75Awards

Since 1975 Prof Haberal is heralded as a pioneer, both in Turkey & world over, in areas of general surgery, transplantation and burn treatment.
He has promoted essential ethical standards & advocated for a clear legal framework for organ transplantation #WHA75

Prof Haberal has tirelessly raised awareness about the importance of organ transplantation & worked towards its social acceptance. He works with families of patients with terminal conditions & also with religious leaders bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Dr Paisan Ruamviboonsuk from #Thailand receives this year’s Sasakawa Health Prize, awarded for outstanding innovative work in health development, including the promotion of health programmes or notable advances in primary health care bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Specializing in retinal eye care, Dr Ruamviboonsuk, an ophthalmologist at Rajavithi Hospital, runs the largest tertiary care hospital under @pr_moph.
Over the past 25 years, he has focused on addressing the second leading cause of blindness in the country – diabetic retinopathy.

Dr Ruamviboonsuk invented & applied a special method to screen for diabetic retinopathy, by grading retinal photographs. He has piloted an initiative to allow trained non-ophthalmological personnel to use this method bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Given the shortage of ophthalmologists & high percentage of retinopathies that go undetected in the early stages, Dr. Ruamviboonsuk’s work is critically important.
Thanks to him, screening for diabetic retinopathy is now free, and a nationwide programme run by @pr_moph #WHA75

Today, diabetic retinopathy is no longer the second leading cause of blindness in #Thailand.
There has been a steep decline in the number of diabetic patients who develop blindness bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

#Nicaragua's Community for Fighting Malaria receives this year’s United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize, which is awarded for an outstanding contribution to health development bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

The National Malaria Component of the Ministry for Citizen’s Power for Health of #Nicaragua, supported by a community network of voluntary collaborators (ColVol), has been implementing Nicaragua’s national programme of malaria control for over 50 years #WHA75

ColVol comprises of local health workers who focus on the surveillance, diagnosis & treatment of malaria in the municipality of Puerto Cabezas, #Nicaragua bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

ColVol also leads in public awareness & community engagement in malaria control, reaching remote & ethnically diverse communities in the municipality of Puerto Cabezas, #Nicaragua, with essential services bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Dr. Hanadi KM Al Hamad receives this year’s Kuwait’s Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for Research in Health Care for the Elderly & in Health Promotion for her remarkable contribution to the field of geriatric care bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Dr. Hanadi KM Al Hamad is #Qatar’s national lead for healthy ageing at the @MOPHQatar & senior clinical leader for geriatric, long-term care & rehabilitation services. She has spearheaded the development of older people virtual clinics & an urgent day-care unit #WHA75

Her work resulted in a 20% increase in bed capacity for elderly long-term care. Integrated mobile & home-care services. A dedicated website for older people with information about healthy ageing. Community & rehabilitation services & memory clinic services #WHA75

This year’s Dr. Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health went to Prof Prakit Vathesatogkit from #Thailand & the Severe Hypothermia Treatment Centre based in #Poland bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Since 1986 Prof Prakit Vathesatogkit has been the Executive Secretary of the Action on Smoking & Health Foundation. He is also a member of the National Committee for the Control of Tobacco Use at the @pr_moph bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Prof Vathesatogkit’s lifelong ambition has been to reduce the prevalence of lung cancer in #Thailand. When he started his career 60% of men smoked and only 1 in 20 lung cancers were diagnosed bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Prof Vathesatogkit's work has not only improved treatment & care protocols for patients but has resulted in many tobacco control measures, including tobacco taxes and restrictions on advertising and sports sponsorships bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

#Poland’s Severe Hypothermia Treatment Centre was the first Polish facility dedicated to treating hypothermic patients & one of the world's first medical centers dedicated to the treatment of accidental hypothermia bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Dr Tomasz Darocha, an expert in the field of extracorporeal therapy & Dr Sylweriusz Kosiński, a specialist in anesthesiology & intensive care, launched the idea to created the Centre & initiated numerous R&D projects in solutions for the diagnosis & treatment of hypothermia

The Centre’s outreach efforts towards first-responder crews have substantially improved the crews’ knowledge & capacity, resulting in improved chances of survival for hypothermic patients. This approach is further strengthened by e-learning courses offered to nurses and doctors.

Doctors & experts at the Centre combine their medical & research work with social work, noticing the problem of “urban hypothermia” & the social dimension of accidental hypothermia. This incl. the need for awareness among those at risk of hypothermia, e.g. homeless or poor people

The holistic approach developed by the Centre enriches the understanding of severe hypothermia globally bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Dr. Wu Zunyou from #China received this year’s Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Dr. Wu is the Chief Epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control & Prevention.
He has designed, piloted & scaled up outreach programmes to increase condom use among sex workers and testing for sexually transmitted infections bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Dr. Wu launched HIV-awareness information campaigns that reached approximately 800,000 female sex workers.
He also established #China’s first needle-exchange programme & its first large-scale opioid replacement treatment for 40,000 and 700,000 drug users, respectively #WHA75

The impact of these measures has been significant. Today, drug users represent 1% of all HIV infections in #China, while in 2004, they represented half bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

Dr. Wu has also introduced universal testing and antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected men who have sex with men.
These measures led to a decrease in the number of new HIV infections in 20 cities in #China bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75

HIV testing is now a crucial prevention tool among all vulnerable groups. In 2020, 300 million tests were carried out in #China.
Dr. Wu’s recommendations on outreach interventions for vulnerable groups translated into a national policy bit.ly/WHA75Awards #WHA75