Thank you, Mister President.
The 2022 public health prizes and awards celebrate people who have addressed a huge array of health challenges from around the world.
It is an honour for us to come together to acknowledge these true champions of health:
From Turkey, pioneering work to promote ethical and equitable organ transplantation;
From Thailand, a new method to screen for eye-related complications of diabetes, preventing many people from going blind;
From Nicaragua, a community-based programme, using local health workers in remote and ethnically diverse communities that has delivered a significant reduction in malaria;
From Qatar, sustained and innovative efforts to improve geriatric long-term care and rehabilitation, resulting in greater bed capacity for long-term care, and using virtual clinics and mobile and home care services;
Also from Thailand, a lifelong commitment to reducing the prevalence of lung cancer and other tobacco-related diseases, through tobacco taxes and advertising restrictions, as well as improved care;
From Poland, an innovative approach to treating extreme hypothermia, especially for the poor and homeless.
And from China, pioneering work to design, pilot and scale up programmes to protect sex workers, drug users and men who have sex with men from HIV.
They are an inspiration to us all.
I thank the foundations and institutions who so generously support these awards.
And I congratulate each of the laureates for their outstanding contributions to science and service.
Thank you for your contribution to promoting health, keeping the world safe and serving the vulnerable.
I salute you.
Thank you.