9 MAY2022AT A TIME WHEN THE WORLD IS FACING AN UNPRECEDENTED CONVERGENCE OF INEQUITY, CONFLICT, FOOD INSECURITY, THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND A PANDEMIC, THIS AWARD RECOGNIZES THOSE WHO HAVE MADE AN OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO PROTECTING AND PROMOTING HEALTH AROUND THE WORLDThe WHO chief stated, "At a time when the world is facing an unprecedented convergence of inequity, conflict, food insecurity, the climate crisis and a pandemic, this award recognizes those who have made an outstanding contribution to protecting and promoting health around the world. These awardees embody lifelong dedication, relentless advocacy, a commitment to equity, and selfless service of humanity".The team of Afghan polio vaccination workers who were massacred by armed attackers in the country's Takhar and Kunduz districts in February this year were among the other notable honorees. These workers include Mohamamd Zubair Khalazai, Shadab Yosufi Najibullah Kosha, Haseeba Omari, Shareefullah Hemati, Khadija Attaee, Munira Hakimi, Robina Yosufi and her brother Shadab. Four of these women workers had been doing house-to-house campaigns in north-eastern Afghanistan, reaching-out to thousands of children. Afghanistan, along with its neighbour Pakistan, is one of the world's two polio-endemic countries. Attempts to eradicate this devastating illness from areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan have been impeded in recent years by militants who have killed vaccination crews in the name of eradicating polio, believing that polio drops cause infertility. Other honorees include Dr. Paul Farmer, chair of Harvard Medical School's Department of Global Health and Social Medicine and co-founder of the worldwide non-governmental organization Partners in Health, who died in Rwanda in February this year.
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