|
|
 |
|
| Speech |
|
|
|
Professor Sir Andy Haines accepting for:
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
The 2009 Gates Award for Global Health
On behalf of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the committee that selected the School for the award, and the Global Health Council for their professional organization of this premier event in global health.
The School’s mission encompasses the pursuit of excellence in research, postgraduate teaching and advanced training in national and international public health and tropical medicine, and through informing policy and practice in these areas.
The history of the School goes back to 1899 with the foundation of the then London School of Tropical Medicine. This was based in the London Docks and focussed on treating tropical diseases, particularly amongst sailors returning from voyages overseas. As a result of a generous grant by the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1920s, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine was formed, bringing together a new national School of Public Health for the United Kingdom with the pre-existing School of Tropical Medicine. This was formally opened nearly 80 years ago in July 1929. Since then the School has evolved into the internationally renowned institution which I am so proud to lead today. It is a particular pleasure that two former leaders of the School – Sir Richard Feachem and Professor Harrison Spencer – are also here to share in the receiving of this Gates award.
Today the School has over 1,000 staff, enabling us to tackle a wide range of health problems from different disciplinary perspectives. We undertake research and teaching from the laboratory – in areas such as pathogen molecular biology and immunology, through to the population sciences of epidemiology and biostatistics, and through to the social sciences such as health economics, sociology and anthropology. It is this rich combination of disciplines which enables the School to tackle the complexity of public health research across a broad range of topics and to provide its students with a unique learning experience.
The School’s research has resulted in many advances of direct relevance to public health; examples include the development and evaluation of insecticide-treated bednets for malaria, a wide range of vaccine related research, research on hygiene and sanitation, drug development, and clinical trials for a range of diseases. Recently we have expanded our research portfolio to encompass the burgeoning chronic disease epidemics afflicting so many countries. For example, a Wellcome Trust funded South Asia Network for Chronic Diseases has been established in Delhi, as well as growing programmes of research addressing mental health, injuries, gender-based violence and global threats to health such as climate change.
As important as our staff in tackling these health challenges are the School’s students. Our first intake over a hundred years ago was 19 students, falling to only two students during the First World War. The School has now graduated over 70,000 alumni, many of whom have gone on to leadership positions. We currently have around 3,500 postgraduate students. About 2,500 of those students are studying through our distance learning programme which has enabled us to reach far greater numbers and has students in around 120 countries. The remaining 1,000 students are studying on Masters degrees or our doctoral programme in London. At the last count our alumni were living in around 170 countries. The School is thus a truly global institution.
In addition to the School’s contribution to research and postgraduate education, there are two other areas where staff have made major contributions which mark the School out as distinct from the growing number of institutions active in global health. One of these is our commitment to influence policy and practice to ensure that the best available research evidence is taken-up by policy makers and practitioners and results in health benefits, particularly to disadvantaged populations worldwide. This involves working with policy makers, international agencies, NGOs and public-private partnerships to provide dispassionate technical advice to influence the way in which billions of dollars are spent on health.
Secondly, School staff have a longstanding commitment to work with partner institutions to support them in realising their own ambitions to achieve excellence in research, teaching and policy. This includes over 100 staff based overseas at 18 different sites in sub-Saharan Africa, with others in India, Thailand, and several Latin American countries, undertaking field research and teaching with local institutions.
I would like to conclude by saying that we are deeply honoured and humbled to be receiving this award. Whilst much has been achieved, we are fully aware that there is much more to be done if, for example, we are to achieve the targets set out in the UN Millennium Development Goals or improve the ability of disadvantaged populations to address threats such as pandemic flu, climate change and global recession. Inspired by this award, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s staff, students and alumni stand ready to work with partners around the world in pursuit of these aims.
|
|
|
