Global Fund Congratulates Peter Piot on Winning Prize for Medical Research
14 March 2013
GENEVA – Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, today congratulated Peter Piot for winning the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for medical research.
“Peter Piot is a monumental leader in global health,” said Dr Dybul. “He deserves this award, and more. His contributions are too numerous and too significant to measure.”
Professor Piot, who currently serves as the Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has played a leading role in several of the most far-reaching global health challenges of the past three decades.
He previously served as the Executive Director of UNAIDS, and he was an important supporter of the establishment and development of the Global Fund. He is the author of a widely-acclaimed book, “No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses.”
The Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize, announced by the Government of Japan on 13 March, is intended to honor individuals or organizations with outstanding achievements in the fields of medical research and medical services to combat infectious and other diseases in Africa.
Japan’s Cabinet Office praised Professor Piot for his “pivotal research” on diseases that are endemic to much of the African continent, including HIV and tuberculosis.
“Personifying an unusual combination of research on the ground in multiple Africa locations and worldwide policy strategy, Professor Piot has applied his scientific discoveries and insights to people all over the world, especially in Africa,” Japan’s Cabinet Office said.
The prize includes a citation, a medal and an honorarium of Y100 million. An awards ceremony will be held in Tokyo on 1 June, at the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development.