Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) presents awards to key people and/or organizations that have made valuable contributions to tobacco control and have helped make World No Tobacco Day and its theme a great success. These awards are an expression of WHO's appreciation of the great time and effort that these contributors have invested in the campaigns, as well as in fighting tobacco.
This year, six World No Tobacco Day awards were presented to:
Ms Samira Ali Higo, Focal Point for the Tobacco Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Djibouti
Dr Nasr El Sayed, Minister’s Assistant for Preventive Affairs, Primary Health Care and Family Planning, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt
Dr Mostafa Ghaffari, Secretariat for National Tobacco Control, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Islamic Republic of Iran
Dr Javid A. Khan, Chair of the National Alliance for Tobacco Control, Pakistan
Dr Tawfik Ahmed Khoja, Director General of the Executive Board, Health Ministers’ Council for Gulf Cooperation Council States, Saudi Arabia
His Excellency Mr Mondher Zenaidi, Minister of Public Health, Ministry of Public Health, Tunisia
These individuals are strong advocates for tobacco control and have been instrumental in pushing for the inclusion of pictorial health warnings in tobacco control laws at national level and their implementation on tobacco product packaging. They have also been particularly active in creating alliances and promoting multisectoral collaboration to ensure effective implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control at country level.
