The full list of winners of the prestigious awards has been announced by the African Palliative Care Association (APCA). The Journalism awards sought to recognise the best coverage of issues pertaining to palliative care in Africa, meeting the WHO’s definition of palliative care. The Public Health and Policy Awards sought to recognise the cumulative contributions of an African Ministry of Health, an individual and an institution whose public policy advocacy efforts at the national, regional, or international level have improved patient access to palliative care in Africa. The awards were supported by the Open Society Foundation.
The winners of the ‘APCA 2013 Palliative Care Journalist Awards for Africa’ are:
- 1st place: Maddy French, “Opioids for the masses”: Think Africa Press
- 2nd place: Vennessa Scholtz, “A caring approach”: Belleville/Durbanville Tygertalk
- 3rd place: Mallick Mnela, “Of Malawi’s painfully slow palliative care roll-out”: Zodiak Online.
- 4th place: Wilma Stassen, “Destined to live and die in pain”: health-e
- The winner of the Best Media House Award went to Think Africa Press.
The winners were selected by a panel of distinguished experts in health journalism. The panel consisted of:
- Declan Okpalaeke, three-time winner of CNN’s African Journalist of the Year Award for his coverage of health, science and environment, and sports stories in Nigeria as well as a Knight International Health Journalism Fellow and Chair of the Steering Committee of the African Health Journalists Association.
- Brett Davidson, the director of the Health Media Initiative, part of the Open Society Public Health Program.
- Kristina Krohn, a Stanford-NBC News Fellow in Media and Global Health 2012-2013.
The winners of the APCA Public Health and Policy Awards are:
- The Policy Award was awarded to the Minister of Health in Kenya for its commitment to championing access to palliative care. The award is received by Hon James Macharia, the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Health.
- The Institutional Advocacy Award was awarded to the Hospice Africa Uganda, for its commitment to palliative care provision in Uganda and across Africa.
- The Individual Advocacy Award was awarded to Dr Zipporah Ali for her commitment to palliative care provision in Kenya.
The winners were selected by a panel of distinguished experts in health journalism. The panel consisted of:
- Mary Callaway, the Project Director of the International Palliative Care Initiative at the Open Society Foundations.
- Dr Ellie Katabira, Associate Professor of Medicine and former Deputy Dean for Research, Faculty of Medicine at Makerere University and the President of the International AIDS Society Governing Council and former International Chair/President-Elect, International AIDS Society (IAS).
- Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell, the founding Executive Director, African Palliative Care Association.
Commenting on the awards APCA’s Executive Director, Dr Emmanuel Luyirika, said, “I would like to congratulate all of the winners of these prestigious awards. Each winner has shown excellence in their field which is having a impact on patient’s lives. Together we can ensure everyone has access to quality palliative care.”
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