Kuwaiti health care prize shows care for elderly, minister tells 76th World Health Assembly

The Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Prize for research in health care for the elderly reflects their position as a major development priority in health programs, Kuwait’s Health Minister Dr. Ahmad Al-Awadhi said on Friday.

“The elderly deserve care and attention in recognition of their sincere efforts during their (lives),” Al-Awadhi told the 76th World Health Assembly at the award ceremony this week, reported Kuwait News Agency.

“The prize shows one of the bright signs and positive initiatives of constructive cooperation between Kuwait and the World Health Organization over six decades since Kuwait joined the organization,” Al-Awadhi continued.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “At a time when the world faces many challenges, each of you is an inspiration and a reminder of the progress that can be made to improve health and well-being for all.”

Dr. Abla Sibai, the dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut, and Dr. Wu Jing, the head of China’s National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, won the prize.

Sibai was nominated for her prominent contributions to elderly health in Lebanon. She has developed a “national strategy for the elderly” in Lebanon for the period between 2020 and 2030, and established the Arab network on aging and the Center for Geriatric Studies to examined the relation between research and policy at national, regional and international levels.

Jing was awarded because her center includes a facility for the health of the elderly, founded in 2013, and has “delivered a broad range of activities that advance health promotion for the elderly.”