KAMPALA –The Ministry of Health in conjunction with Xtraordinary Media has launched the inaugural Heroes in Health Awards at a colorful ceremony presided over by the Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng at Hotel Africana.
The Heroes in Health Awards will be hosted annually to pay homage to the dedicated and talented individuals, communities, practitioners, academics, organizations, and other sector partners who dedicate their career, time, life and resources to providing exemplary care, innovation, and services to Ugandans countrywide.
While launching the Heroes in Health Awards (HIHA), Dr. Aceng said: “These awards, the first of their kind, are instrumental in appreciating the invaluable and significant work being undertaken by the health workers, organizations and communities to improve health delivery outcomes in the country.”
Dr. Aceng noted that the Government of Uganda is cognizant that health workers work in the most resource-constrained settings, hard to reach areas, serving overwhelming numbers in a bid to save lives every day and these awards are a form of motivating and appreciating the good work rendered to the communities.
“Don’t vote for the most popular health workers or institutions but the most hardworking and committed health worker and innovation that you think worked best in your community” Dr. Aceng emphasized as she called upon the public to nominate their preferred candidate.
The awards will be entirely merit-based and candidates will be nominated by the public, who are the beneficiaries of their efforts and hard work. Nominees will be subjected to an evaluation by a technical team to ensure that those nominated actually merit to be winners. The vetting process will ensure that nominees are rewarded based on the level of service they provide to their communities.
The Permanent Secretary, Dr Diana Atwine lauded Xtraordinary media for the initiative and partnership with the Ministry of Health to acknowledge the heroes in health. “This will be a motivation for providing quality work. As health professionals, we never advertise ourselves. We don’t advertise the good we do. People don’t look at the amount of work put in and they don’t put into consideration the amount of work done behind the scene” she said.
Dr Atwine added “we want the public to tell us those individuals that take time off to attend to their personal medical needs, those that make them feel attended to when in hospital. We want to see those that walk the life of service.”
The World Health Organization Country Representative, Dr. Yonas Tegegn underscored the importance of the health workforce. “The asset for Uganda’s health sector is the health workforce. What motivates us is not necessarily funding or finances, studies have shown that health workers are motivated by recognition. These awards are one of the ways of recognizing that” he said.
The award categories include: Life Time Achievement, Public Health Facility of Choice, Private Health Facility of Choice, Mission/Faith-based Health Facility of Choice, Maternal and Child Healthcare Award, Health Innovation Award, Use of ICT to improve Patient Care Award, Student innovation Award, Media Excellence in Health Promotion, Excellence in improving Access to Essential Medicines and Vaccines, Healthcare Financing Innovation Award, Healthcare Leadership Award, District/Authority with the Best Managed Health Promotion Campaign, Doctor of the Year, Nurse of the Year, Midwife of the Year, Allied Health Worker of the Year, Pharmacist of the Year, Regional Health Champion – North, East, West, Central and South, Award of Excellence in Palliative Care, Measles and Rubella Awards of excellence, Ebola prevention, treatment and management Awards, Media Excellence Broadcast, Media Excellence Print, and Pharmacovigilance Excellence Award
The winners must have demonstrated evidence of extensive expertise and skills, dedication to service, and client satisfaction with commitment to excellence and innovation.
Nominations will take place from 15th February to 15th March 2020 and the winners will be announced at a gala on 03rd April 2020 presided over by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni.
