Washington, DC, September 22, 2021 (PAHO / WHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has honored Dr. Joanne Liu of Canada for her service to public health with the PAHO Award for Management and Leadership in health services.
The award ceremony took place during the 59th Meeting of the PAHO Directing Council, which takes place virtually this week, and is attended by the highest health authorities in the region of the Americas.
The award celebrates Dr. Liu’s outstanding contributions to the fields of humanitarian medicine and in health crisis response and management, both in Canada and abroad, as well as her experience in pandemic response and enrollment of health systems.
Announcing this year’s award to Dr Liu, Christopher Tufton, president of the 59th Directing Council of PAHO and Minister of Health and Welfare of Jamaica, highlighted his significant contributions to the region, including “his leadership during health emergencies and its response to crises around the world, as well as its commitment to providing health services to those living in situations of greatest vulnerability, which encompasses all of PAHO’s key values. “
Dr Liu is a pediatric emergency physician and has worked in emergency departments in more than 20 countries around the world. She is the former president of Médecins sans frontières (MSF) – a recognized humanitarian crisis organization – and was also a key figure in the global response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
In the Region of the Americas, Dr Liu is known for her work assisting communities affected by the 2010 earthquake and cholera epidemic in Haiti, and for supporting Honduras in strengthening the country’s health system.
In 2015, she was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People by TIME magazine, where she was proclaimed a Global Health Fighter.
Most recently, Dr Liu served as a member of the WHO Independent Pandemic Preparedness and Response Group, providing expertise in assessing the challenges of addressing health threats based on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. .
Thanking PAHO for the honor and recognition, Dr Liu commended the countries of the Americas for refusing to remain inactive in the face of inequality in access to vaccines and called on PAHO Member States to “ mobilize political alignment and address the range of issues related to pandemic preparedness and response. ”
Established in 1969, the PAHO Health Services Management and Leadership Award is recognition by the governments of the Americas for outstanding contributions aimed at improving health systems and services, as well as programs, projects or initiatives having a proven impact in access to health care at national or regional level, among others.
Previous year’s recipients include Dr Reina Roa Rodríguez, from Panama; Dr. Natalia Largaespada Beer, from Belize; Dr Stella Bolaños Varela, from Costa Rica, and Dr Pastor Castell-Florit Serrate, from Cuba.
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