WHO award to Niti Aayog Member Dr Vinod Paul

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New Delhi : Dr Vinod Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, has been awarded the prestigious IhsanDoğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize by the World Health Organisation (WHO).  He is the first Indian to receive this global honour, which is conferred in recognition of services in the field of family health.

The award, confirmed by the WHO Executive Board on January 27, 2018, will be presented to Dr Paul formally at the World Health Assembly to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2018.He was chosen unanimously from six other shortlisted candidates from Algeria, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, according to a PIB release.

The WHO Board resolution acknowledges Dr Paul as an internationally renowned researcher, clinician, educator and public health advocate in the area of family health, with a special focus on newborn health. He has made distinguished contributions towards improving the health and well-being of families, especially in developing countries.

Dr Paul’s efforts brought the long-neglected issue of newborn health to the centre-stage of strategies for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through significant contributions to important documents used globally on family health.

Instrumental in establishing the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, in 2005-06, Dr Paul is recognized world over as a leading expert in universal health coverage and human resources for health. He has published numerous articles on various issues, including on women, children and adolescents’ health, in international peer-reviewed journals as well as several books and monographs. His book on paediatrics is the standard textbook for medical students in India and several other countries.

A well-known name in public health circles in India, Dr Paul has played a key role in formulating national child health guidelines and programmes in the country. Prior to joining as Member, NITI Aayog, Dr Paul was head of the Department of Paediatrics at AIIMS, New Delhi.