Prof Ruth Oniang'o receives Distinguished Service Award at 2014 Agribusiness & Food World Forum

As part of the 2014 Agribusiness & Food World Forum held in Cape Town, South Africa on 15-19 June 2014, Professor Ruth Khasaya Oniang’o received the Distinguished Service Award for her influence on the development of nutrition training and agricultural research and development throughout Africa.

Far beyond her home country of Kenya, Professor Oniang’o has participated in international activities which have helped to generate decisions that have shaped and furthered global food security and nutrition.

The recognition of Professor Oniang’o as part of the first World Forum on the African continent is particularly fitting. Jointly hosted by the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) and the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), the Agribusiness & Food World Forum focuses on Africa as a region of limitless opportunity, where agribusiness has the potential to be the engine that drives dynamic, unprecedented economic growth and development.

Read more in this press release

Congratulations, Prof Oniang'o!

Prof Mary Abukutsa-Onyango wins 2014 Edinburgh Medal

Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, professor of horticulture at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) was awarded the prestigious 2014 Edinburgh Medal.

She received the award in recognition of her two decades of research on sustainable production and utilization of leafy African indigenous vegetables to tackle malnutrition and obesity as well as empower rural communities in Kenya.

The Edinburgh Medal is a prestigious award given each year to men and women of science and technology whose professional achievements are judged to have made a significant contribution to the understanding and well-being of humanity.

In her Edinburgh Medal address titled Horticultural biodiversity, repositioning the hidden treasure, she advocated for strategic repositioning of nutrient-rich African indigenous vegetables, and explained how farming and consumption of this ‘treasure’ holds the key to long-term food security for the continent and for better health, nutrition and improved livelihoods for millions of people.

Past recipients of the Edinburgh Medal include Prof Jane Goodall (1991), Prof Wangari Maathai (1993), Prof Amartya Sen (1997) and Prof Peter Higgs and CERN (2013).

Kudos to Prof Abukutsa-Onyango on this award!

Read more in this announcement by JKUAT.

Top French Honours for Prof Miriam Were

Congratulations are in order for Prof Miriam Were on being awarded the title of "Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour" by the French President.

"Head of the National AIDS Control Council Miriam Were has once again been honoured for her contribution in fighting HIV and AIDS. A letter obtained by The Nation says France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy had signed a decree conferring upon Prof Were the title of Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour. The letter was signed by Mr Alain Joyandet, a top French government official. This award is considered the highest decoration in France. "

Source: Daily Nation, Thursday 18 December 2008

Miriam Were - Winner of Inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize

Next on the honour roll of Kenya's women professors is Miriam Were, in light of her recent award of the inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Services on 28 May 2008. The prestigious award was presented in recognition of her efforts to bring basic medical services and health care to women and children in the villages of East Africa.

Indeed, Prof Miriam Were’s efforts are a testimony of her commitment to community-based approaches to the delivery of health care in Africa. She is well known nationally in her present capacity as Chair of Kenya’s National AIDS Control Council (NACC), the organization that coordinates the activities of national and international stakeholders involved in Kenya’s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Miriam Were’s excellence in the medical field can be traced back to 1973 when she graduated as the best overall medical student at Uganda’s Makerere University. She went on to specialize in community public health and received her Master of Public Health (1976) and Doctor of Public Health (1981) from Johns Hopkins University. Between 1974 and 1985, she taught Community Health at the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Medicine and was the Chair of the Department of Community Health from 1982 to 1985.

Aside from the local academic scene, Miriam Were has also distinguished herself as a medical professional of international repute and boasts over 10 years’ work experience in high-level international postings. She has served as the Chief Health and Nutrition Adviser to UNICEF (1985-90), World Health Organization Chief of Mission to Ethiopia (1990-93) and Director of the United Nations Population Fund Country Support Team in Ethiopia (1993-2000).

In addition to her work at the National AIDS Control Council, Prof Were is currently a member of the board of trustees of Uzima Foundation, a charitable organization she co-founded in 1995 that seeks to empower the youth through improved health, including prevention of HIV infection and malaria.

Additionally, she sits on the international board of AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation), an international African NGO with 50 years’ experience in providing poor communities in Africa with improved access to basic health care.