5th January, 2009
French Government honours Prof Miriam Were
Prof Miriam Were has been awarded the title of Knight of the Legion d’Honneur (the Legion of Honour) by the Government of France in recognition of her contribution to the fight against HIV and AIDS. The decree conferring the award was signed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonarparte, the Legion d’Honneur is the highest award given by the French Republic for outstanding service.Prof Were is currently the acting chair of AMREF’s Board of Directors, having previously been the Board Chair from 2001 to 2008. “AMREF congratulates Prof Were for this important award by the French Government in recognition of her leadership and role in the global fight against HIV and AIDS.
We are very proud to be associated with her and are humbled by the role she continues to play in improving health for the people of Africa and the world,” said AMREF’s Director General Dr Michael Smalley.This is the second major international honour bestowed upon Prof Were in the past year for her outstanding contribution to health and health care in Africa. In April 2008 the Government of Japan awarded her the inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize in recognition of her contribution to the development of public health in Africa.
The Prize was presented to Prof Were by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in the presence of the Emperor and Empress of Japan and a large number of African heads of state.
