Miriam Khamadi Were (born 12 April 1940) is a Kenyan

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

advocate, academic, and recipient of the first

Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize The honors men and women "with outstanding achievements in the fields of medical research and medical services to combat infectious and other diseases in Africa, thus contributing to the health and welfare of the African people and of all humankind ...

. In 2022, she has been nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

for her work in public health.

Academic experience

As a graduate of

William Penn College William Penn University is a private university in Oskaloosa, Iowa, United States. It was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1873 as Penn College. In 1933, the name was changed to William Penn College, and fina ...

, in

Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is a List of cities in Iowa, city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U ...

, Were began a career with a focus on helping others. With a degree in Natural Sciences and postgraduate Diploma in Education, she taught high school chemistry and biology before medical studies. Were qualified as a medical doctor from the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

, and she rose to become head of the Department of Community Medicine at Nairobi's School of Medicine.UZIMA Foundation
Were bio
Were's studies at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

led to her 1981 doctorate in Public Health, Health Planning and Management.Japan, Cabinet Office
Noguchi Prize, index
/ref> She has applied this training and academic background to programs focused on community-based empowerment. Her work aims to help others move towards implementing creative, effective, and self-sustaining programs. Her experiences have been marshaled in encouraging community-based initiatives.

Administrative experience

As a co-founder of the UZIMA Foundation and in her work with African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), Were sought to put her academic training to good use. She focused on the process of bringing basic medical services and health rights to women and children in the villages of East Africa. Were is the current chairperson of the National AIDS Control Council (NACC) Kenya. From a position closely associated with the Office of the President, NACC coordinates the national HIV/AIDS response in Kenya. Dr. Were is also the serving Chairperson of the

African Medical and Research Foundation Amref Health Africa is a Kenyan-based non-governmental organization focused on providing community and environmental healthcare to countries in Africa. It is considered one of the most prominent health NGOs in Africa. History Originally known ...

(AMREF) Board. In addition, she finds time to serve on the advisory board of the

Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) was established in April 2003 to replace the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority after Parliament enacted new legislation. Legal framework The legislation enacted to establish the commission was: * The An ...

(KACC), as well as on the board of directors o
Medical Assistance Programs
(MAP) International (US). Were was Director of the

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...

Country Support Team (UNFPA/CST) for East and Central Africa and Anglophone West Africa, based in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, Ethiopia. Prior to that, she was the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) Representative and Chief of Mission in Ethiopia. Before WHO, she was Chief of Health and Nutrition in

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, Ethiopia. Were was recruited to UNICEF from the Department of Community Health in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Nairobi where she had become head of that department. While teaching at the university in Nairobi, she initiated the Community-Based Health Care (CBHC) project in

Kakamega Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of Kakamega County that has a population of 1,867,579 (2019 census). The town has an urban population of 107,227 (2019 census). Kakamega ...

, in Western Kenya. Dr. Were was the Director of CBHC in the period from 1976 through 1982. This project won the UNICEF Maurice Pate Award of 1978, the first time any African institution had won this award. She was appointed the

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Moi University Moi University is a public university located in Kesses, Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu county, in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the Parliament of Kenya, after recommendations from t ...

Eldoret Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about at the Eldoret International Air ...

, on Thursday, 19 September 2013. In 2021, she took up the role of Community Engagement and Involvement lead in the

National Institute for Health and Care Research The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "impr ...

(NIHR) CLEAN-Air (Africa) Global Health Research Group. She is also a member of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission.

Creative writing

Were has also written poetry and fiction and is the author of four novels: ''The Boy In Between'' (1969), ''The High School Gent'' (1969), ''The Eighth Wife'' (1972), and ''Your Heart Is My Altar'' (1980).

Selected works

* 2002 �
"Kakamega, Kenya: A Promising Start Derailed,"
in ''Just and Lasting Change: When Communities Own Their Futures, '' Daniel Taylor-Ide and Carl E. Taylor, eds. Baltimore:

Johns Hopkins Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publish ...

. * 1985 – "Extended Family Involvement of Urban Professional Women" (with Harriette MacAdoo), i
''Women in Africa and the African Diaspora,''

Rosalyn Terborg-Penn Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (October 22, 1941 – December 25, 2018) was an American professor of history and author. Terborg-Penn specialized in African-American history and black women's history. Her book ''African American Women in the Struggle for th ...

and Andrea Benton Rushing, eds Washington, D.C."

Howard University Press Howard University Press (HUP) was a publisher that was part of Howard University, founded in 1972. HUP was the first black university press in the US, with its first chief executive being Charles F. Harris, who published about 100 titles under the ...

Honours

* Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS), 2005 – Kenya. * Medal of the Italian Cabinet, 2006 – Italy. * Queen Elizabeth II Gold Medal for Outstanding Contributions to International Public Health and Supporting the health needs of disadvantaged people, 2007 United Kingdom. *

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, Chevalier, 2008 — France. * Awarded first

by the Japanese Government in the Medical Services category * Distinguished Career Award, 2015 – William Penn University. Oskaloosa, IA. * Nobel Peace Prize nomination, 2022. Miriam Were in 2020

Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize

The Japanese Government established the

in July 2006 as a new international medical research and services award. The first announcement of plans to create this prize was timed to mark the official visit to Africa by Prime Minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...

in May 2006. The timing also marked the 80th anniversary of Dr. Noguchi's death. The Prize aims to honour individuals with outstanding achievements in combating various infectious diseases in Africa or in establishing innovative medical service systems. The inaugural presentation ceremony and the initial laureate lectures coincided with the Fourth

Tokyo International Conference on African Development is a conference held regularly with the objective "to promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners." Japan is a co-host of these conferences. Other co-organizers of TICAD are the United Nations Office of t ...

(TICAD), which was held in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

in late-April 2008. This year's conference venue was moved from Tokyo to Yokohama as another way of honouring the man after whom the prize was named. In 1899, Dr. Noguchi worked at the Yokohama Port Quarantine Office as an assistant quarantine doctor. Japanese Prime Minister

Yasuo Fukuda is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori an ...

made the actual award presentation, and the Emperor and Empress were present at the 2008 ceremony, along with a large number of African heads of state. Were was honoured in the Medical Services category; her laureate lecture topic was "Potential for Improvement in Africa's Health Through Evidence and Persistence in the Spirit of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi". The first awards of this international prize—consisting of a citation, a medal and an honorarium of 100 million yen (US$843,668) were only intended to be the first in a continuing series; and subsequently the Prize is expected to be awarded every five years. The prize has been made possible through a combination of government funding and private donations."Noguchi Africa Prize short by 70% of fund target,"
''Yomiuri Shimbun'' (Tokyo). 30 March 2008.

Notes

References

"Prof. Were commended,"
''KBC'' (Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation). 21 May 2008. * Jevans Nyabiage, Jevans and Waikwa Maina

''Daily Nation'' (Nairobi). 21 May 2008.

External links

* Japanese Government Internet TV

* Development Gateway Foundation
Noguchi Prize, Were bio
* Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

* Canadian Health Services Foundation (CHSRF/FCRSS)
Policy & Practice
* Japan, Cabinet Office
Were, CV
* Kenya, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Noguchi Prize, press release
* Global Health Council
AMREF
* African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF)
AMREF Board member
* MAP International
Queen Elizabeth II Gold Medal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Were, Miriam 1940 births Elders of the Order of the Burning Spear Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni Kenyan public health doctors Kenyan Quakers Kenyan women writers Living people Academic staff of Moi University University of Nairobi alumni Women public health doctors William Penn University alumni