Rewarding Excellence, Encouraging Leadership... » The Abraham Horwitz Award for Leadership in Inter-American Health 

Past Winners

Dr. Ricardo Uauy - Chile

World-Renowned Nutrition Expert Awarded Prestigious Award for Leadership in Inter-American Health

In Washington DC on September 16, 2005 and before an international forum of high-level government health officials, ambassadors and other VIPs, a world-renowned international nutritionist, pediatrician, and professor, Dr. Ricardo Uauy, received the prestigious Abraham Horwitz Award for Leadership in Inter-American Health for his significant commitment to international nutrition in his native country of Chile and for his commitment to Latin America and beyond during a career spanning more than three decades.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation, Dr. Antonia Novello, Commissioner of Health for the State of New York State and former U.S. Surgeon General, presented a certificate of honor and cash prize to Dr. Uauy during the 46th Annual Directing Council meeting of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). She spoke of Dr. Uauy’s leadership; his expertise in international nutrition, especially infant and child nutrition; and his excellence in research. She referred to him “as one of the most eminent and distinguished scientists in international nutrition in the world.” Among his many distinctions, Dr. Novello told of his leadership in addressing the nutrition transition in Latin America. She informed the international forum of public health leaders in the Americas that “his energy and productivity have allowed him to mentor the next generation of researchers and to be an outstanding role model for scientists throughout the Region of the Americas and around the world.”

Earlier in the day at a luncheon in recognition of his international standing, the Executive Director of the Pan American Health and Education Foundation, Ms. Jess Gersky, thanked and congratulated Dr. Uauy for his leadership in international nutrition and research thereby improving health for all in the Americas. She noted that “Dr. Uauy selflessly serves the public’s health and demonstrates leadership and dedication to the highest standards of excellence in nutrition and research. He inspires up-and-coming public health leaders. We are proud to have him as a member of our inter-American health family.”

The Abraham Horwitz Award for Leadership in Inter-American Health was established to honor Dr. Horwitz, who served as the director of PAHO and as president of the Foundation for 25 years. Since 1975, it has recognized nearly 30 leaders whose areas of expertise ranged from child safety, to urban health, to tropical diseases, and the like. These leaders’ commitment to inter-American public health stimulates excellence among public health professionals regionwide. This award is one of five awards of the Awards for Excellence in Inter-American Public Health Program, a partnership between the Foundation and PAHO.

The Pan American Health and Education Foundation is an independent philanthropic organization working to combat disease, lengthen life, improve health care services, foster health research, and enhance the capacities of health care workers in the Americas through grant-making and direct program implementation. The Foundation works to promote philanthropy as a core social value, and shares the Pan American Health Organization’s vision of Health for All.

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