Ethiopian Minister of Health honoured by his former university
PRESS RELEASE
March 12, 2012 - LONDON
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health has been honoured by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine as one of its most distinguished former students.
Dr. Tedros was awarded an Honorary Fellowship – the School’s most prestigious honour - during the annual graduation ceremony on 10th March 2012. He was praised for his outstanding career including important contributions as a malariologist and public health leader.
He was also guest of honour at a reception for alumni and distance-learning students in the School’s historic library on the eve of the graduation ceremony.
Honorary Fellowships are awarded triennially to people who have given exceptional service to the School or who have attained exceptional distinction in a subject taught at the School.
Dr Tedros completed a Masters in Immunology of Infectious Diseases at the School, graduating in 1992. On the occasion Dr Tedros said :
“I am grateful to the School for providing me with practical skills and friends for life. The experience of studying alongside people from more than 100 different countries will enable the graduates of today to make a difference in the world and improve people’s lives.”
Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “The School is very proud to have one of the outstanding leaders of public health in the world as both an alumnus and an honorary fellow.”
The School said that Dr Tedros was “an outstanding leader as the Minister of Health in Ethiopia” where “he has improved the primary healthcare system through training the providers and setting policies based on the research evidence”. “Internationally, the School added Dr Tedros “was the chair of the governing boards of UNAIDs, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.”
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health, with 4000 students and more than 1300 staff working in over 100 countries. The School is one of the highest-rated research institutions in the UK, and was recently cited as one of the world’s top universities for collaborative research. The School's mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.
For further information please contact the Ethiopian Embassy press office on 0207 838 3883 or email info@ethioembassy.org.uk.You can also contact the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine press office on 07713 089725 or email paula.fentiman@lshtm.ac.uk.