Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad of Qatar is honored with the WHO prize

Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad, National Lead for Healthy Aging for the Qatar Ministry of Public Health (National Health Strategy 2018–2022) and Medical Director of Rumailah Hospital and the Qatar Rehabilitation Institute at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), was among those honored this weekend by the World Health Organization.

The special awards event, held yesterday during the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, acknowledged seven individuals from various countries for their remarkable accomplishments in public health-related areas.

HMC's Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad, Chairperson of HMC's Department of Geriatrics and Long-Term Care, received the prestigious "His Highness Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Prize for Research in Elder Care and Health Promotion."

At the formal awards event, which was attended by Kuwait's Minister of Health, H.E. Dr. Khaled Al Saeed, and the Qatari delegation to the World Health Assembly, Dr. Al Hamad was honored with the award on behalf of the State of Kuwait Health Promotion Foundation. The Minister commended Dr. Al Hamad for her tireless efforts to improve geriatric care, which have resulted in significant achievements.

"I gladly accept this award not only for myself but also on behalf of my entire team, who have been the cornerstone of all that we have achieved and all that we still plan to achieve in developing best-practice care for our older population in Qatar and the region," Dr. Al Hamad said of the Assembly President and H E Dr. Al Saeed.

As the National Health Strategy's lead for healthy aging, I am committed to improving the quality of healthcare services for the elderly, long-term care patients, and dementia patients. "The award highlights our efforts to achieve the objectives of our National Health Strategy 2018–2022, which focuses on the care of our older population and our Qatar National Vision 2030," Dr. Al Hamad explained. The theme of this year's World Health Assembly is "Health for Peace, Peace for Health."

H.E. Dr. Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh, Djibouti's Minister of Health, presided over the awards ceremony, along with top representatives in charge of presenting each award to its corresponding laureate.