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NEWS & INSIGHTS

Making the World Better for Future Generations

Profs. Andrew Pollard / Sarah Gilbert and Drs. Rino Rappuoli / Mariagrazia Pizza named winners of...

8 March, 2023The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and SK bioscience jointly announced Profs. Andrew Pollard / Sarah Gilbert and Rino Rappuoli / Mariagrazia Pizza as two groups of co-recipients of the second IVI – SK bioscience Park ManhHoon Award.The IVI-SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award annually honors up to two individuals and/or groups that have made extraordinary contributions to the discovery, development and delivery of vaccines and the advancement of global health. The award was launched in 2022 to commemorate the legacy of the late Vice Chairman Dr. Park MahnHoon of SK bioscience. This year’s award ceremony is scheduled to take place at IVI on April 25, the second anniversary of Dr. Park’s death. SK bioscience contributes funding for two 100 million Korean won (approx. US$85,000) annual prizes to IVI for the awards.“IVI, jointly with SK bioscience, is pleased to announce the selection of the winners of the second set of IVI-SKBS Park MahnHoon awards. The award recipients are Profs. Andrew Pollard and Sarah Gilbert for their work on COVID-19 and other critical global health and emerging disease vaccines and Drs. Rino Rappuoli and Mariagrazia Pizza for their development of new, more scientific approaches to the development of all vaccines,” said Dr. Jerome Kim, Director General of IVI. “These two groups of vaccine champions have spearheaded the development of vaccines against COVID-19 and meningitis, respectively, which have saved numerous lives and advanced vaccine science and global public health.”Prof. Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oxford, led the clinical development of the Oxford/AZ COVID-19 vaccine across 3 continents, one of the first and most widely administered vaccines in the fight against the pandemic. He has conducted extensive clinical, basic and epidemiological research crucial to the understanding of the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases and has led pioneering work on meningococcal, pneumococcal, typhoid and COVID-19 vaccines which underpins global policy on immunization against these diseases.Prof. Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford and a co-inventor of the Oxford/AZ vaccine, was the driving force behind the creation of this novel adenoviral vectored COVID vaccine. More than 3.1 billion doses of the vaccine have been released for supply to over 180 countries, including over 580 million doses that were made available to COVAX for low- and middle-income countries, or about 31 percent of all COVAX supplies. As a leader of vaccine advocacy she is also the author of the book ‘Vaxxers: The Inside Story of the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine and the Race Against the Virus.’ Her work also focuses on the rapid transfer of vaccines into GMP manufacturing and first in human trials as part of efforts to accelerate the development and introduction of new vaccines.Dr. Rino Rappuoli and Dr. Mariagrazia Pizza jointly pioneered a new more scientific approach to vaccine development – “reverse vaccinology” that takes what we understand about the viral and bacterial pathogens and immune responses against them to design an optimal vaccine candidate. Using this approach they developed a new vaccine against the Type B meningococcus, a devastating infection of the nervous system that occurs most commonly in infants aged under 1 year, as well as children and adolescents. This vaccine is now licensed (Bexero) and has shown to be highly efficacious in preventing the disease. Dr. Rappuoli is now the Scientific Director of Biotecnopolo di Siena Foundation in Italy and was formerly the Chief Scientist at GSK Vaccines, His extensive contributions to vaccinology also include a molecule, CRM197, that today is the most widely used carrier for vaccines against H. influenzae, N. meningitidis and pneumococcus, and is used to vaccinate most children worldwide.Dr. Mariagrazia Pizza is former Senior Scientific Director Bacterial Vaccines at GSK. In the 1980s, she took on a project aimed at designing genetically detoxified pertussis toxin. This research led to the identification of a genetically detoxified pertussis toxin as the antigen ideal for a new vaccine for being devoid of toxicity but highly immunogenic. In 1999, she became the project leader for the identification of new Meningococcus B antigens using the ‘reverse vaccinology’ approach. This allowed the development of the MenB vaccine, which has been licensed in more than 40 countries worldwide.Dr. Christian Mandl, chair of the IVI -SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award Selection Committee (and IVI’s Scientific Advisory Group), said, “I had the privilege of joining some 10 leading vaccine experts on the Selection Committee to evaluate the qualifications of world-renowned vaccinologists and global health leaders to single out the awardees. These awardees deserve global recognition for their exceptional contributions to vaccine research, the development and testing of novel vaccines, the discovery of breakthrough technologies, and the impact these vaccines have had on the health of people everywhere.”Dr. Hun Kim, Global R&BD President of SK bioscience, said, “Vaccine development is a task that must be carried out with the single goal of promoting the health of humanity by overcoming the fear of uncertainties and long time required. By building upon the spirit of the late Vice Chairman Park MahnHoon who made significant contributions to the global health sector, SK bioscience will continue to take the lead in developing vaccines and ensuring equitable vaccine supply in collaboration with IVI.”

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25 April 2023
African Development Bank Group marks progress in gender equality with EDGE Certification

8 March, 2023AfDBA year after launching the EDGE certification(link is external) process, the African Development Bank has attained Level 1 Assess, in recognition of its commitment to monitoring, benchmarking and achieving gender parity in its workforce.The Bank began the EDGE certification process in 2022. EDGE is the world\'s leading certification that measures gender equity in the workplace.The Bank is now EDGE certified at Level 1 (EDGE Assess), which recognizes the organization’s commitment to an impactful action plan to accelerate its progress across the 4 pillars of the EDGE Global Standards - representation, pay equity, policies and practices, and inclusiveness of culture.“This is a new milestone in the Bank’s journey to join, under the leadership of our President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, a global community of organizations committed to giving equal opportunities to men and women in the workplace,”said African Development Bank Acting Vice President Jacques Edjangue.“Significant progress has been made on the Learning & Development front to empower our women in the workplace, ”the Acting VP added.EDGE noted in a statement(link is external) on its website that the Bank, “by working to close gaps identified during the assessment, will continue to expand its efforts towards creating a more gender-equal workplace.”The African Development Bank remains committed to pursuing initiatives and procedures that promote gender equality within its institutions. In 2019, 83% of the executive workforce at the African Development Bank was men. But within three years, the ratios of women at senior leadership had changed from 17% to 32%. The Bank has set a goal for reaching 50/50 gender parity across its workforce in the near future.Aniela Unguresan, Founder of EDGE Certified Foundation said: “It is with great pride that we announce the certification of the African Development Bank Group at the first EDGE Certification level, EDGE Assess. We look forward to the African Development Bank Group’s continued progress towards gender equality in the workplace as the organization works towards the next EDGE Certification level.”

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25 April 2023
CAMERA WORK: Beauty of Women IV

March 3, 2023The Eye of PhotographyThe CAMERA WORK Virtual Gallery presents the fourth part of the exhibition cycle »Beauty of Women«. With 45 works by more than 20 artists from the years 1949–2018.Beauty is not only defined by ideal images, as Martin Schoeller shows perfection beyond social norms in his series »Female Bodybuilders«. A tableau of four large-format works by the ar\\st is part of the exhibition, which also devotes an entire room to the impressive career of late supermodel Tatjana Patitz.In »Beauty of Women IV,« a portrait of Mother Teresa by Yousuf Karsh and a photograph of Simone de Beauvoir by Elliott Erwitt testify to the fact that beauty, beyond appearances, is also founded in action.The exhibition also features portraits of supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Waris Dirie, Kate Moss, and Claudia Schiffer, as well as portraits of actresses such as Monica Bellucci, Audrey Hepburn, and Angelina Jolie.It deals with various aspects of beauty and can only be visited at any time of the day in the gallery virtual room.CAMERA WORK Virtual Gallery⊙ camerawork.de/en/virtualgallery/CAMERA WORK Gallery⊙ Kantstrasse 149⊙ 10623 Berlin, Germany⊙ Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.⊙ www.camerawork.de/en

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9 March 2023
Washington DC to host World Culture Festival 2023

March 4, 2023Daily Excelsior(Photo taken at the World Cultural Festival in New Delhi in 2016)Washington, Mar 4: The fourth World Cultural Festival will be held in the American capital here this fall, organiser Art of Living has announced.Several world leaders and hundreds and thousands of people from across the globe are expected to attend the three-day mega event from September 29 to October 1 at the historic National Mall.The previous three editions of the World Culture Festival were held in Bengaluru (2006), Berlin (2011) and New Delhi (2016).“In a world which is so polarised, divided and despondent, it is time for us to come together in celebration, where we appreciate the rich diversity on this planet,” Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said. “It is high time we recognise we are a one world family,” he added.The event’s reception committee is being led by Ban Ki-moon, who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations, and includes multiple current and former heads of states, members of the United States Congress and a range of spiritual and faith leaders, according to a media release.“We are incredibly excited and proud to announce that Washington DC will host the fourth World Culture Festival in 2023. From September 29 to October 1, we will come together on the National Mall for a celebration of culture, diversity and unity,” District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a video message.“We will come together on the National Mall for a celebration of culture, diversity and unity. As Washington DC welcomes the world, we invite all global citizens to join us in honour of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s message that diversity is the beauty of creation,” she added.“We certainly know that to be true in Washington DC. It is the foundation of our DC values and the reason we are so excited to host the World Culture Festival,” Bowser said.In a statement, Art of Living said visitors from every corner of the globe will travel to the US capital to be a part of the festival, honouring the rich human diversity expressed through music, art, food, dance, meditation and inspirational talks.The landmark event will bring the world together in celebration to uplift the human spirit and reaffirm a collective commitment to peace and unity, it said.Thousands of diverse artistes have already committed to participate and announcements about the festival’s programming schedule will be made later this spring, it added.

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9 March 2023
Desert Flower activist and author Waris Dirie as guest in Donut City

Feb 21, 2023MeinBezirk.atWaris Dirie looks back on a moving life. It\'s a mature film, because her award-winning autobiography also became a success on the screen. Now Dirie\'s coming to the Donut town.WHEN/DONAUSTlTY. Desert flowers are characterized by their resilience. I think the Somali-Austrian author, Waris Dirie, has chosen this title for her most famous work. This autobiography is about Dirie\'s life. She grew up as a nomadic girl in the desert of Somalia.At the age of 13, she fled to Mogadishu in the face of forced marriage with a much older man. Afterwards, she led her way to London, where she was discovered in a shop by a photographer and became a successful model. Dirie used her success as an activist against female genital mutilation.On March 5th, Dirie will be a guestFrom 1997 to 2003, she was the UN Special Envoy against the circumcision of female genital mutilation. In 2002, she founded her own organization, the Desert Flower Foundation.Now, Waris Dirie\'s coming to visit Donut. Sunday, five. March, she\'s coming to the Cineplexx Danube Center, where the footage of her bestseller is shown. The event will be hosted by the EVP district party wife Gudrun Kugler and her deputy, Christian Klar. Let\'s start at 13.Registration is by mail to office@gudrunkugler.Maybe.

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9 March 2023
GAVI Vaccine Alliance: Pate’s appointment boosts Nigeria’s chances of vaccines, says FG

Feb 20, 2023The GauaridanMinister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has said that the appointment of the former Minister of State for Health, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GAVI Vaccine Alliance, has improved and brightened Nigeria’s chances of commencing local production of vaccines.He said that Pate’s appointment was a validation of confidence the global community has on Nigerian health professionals “because entrusting such a position to Nigeria is also saying something about us”, he said.Speaking at a dinner organized by Friends of Prof Pate to celebrate his appointment as the new GAVI Chief Executive on Saturday evening in Abuja, the Minister, who noted that Nigeria wants to develop a strategy for vaccine production as a matter of urgency, called for a multi-focal approach to vaccine production as a matter of global health security.Ehanire stated that vaccine manufacturing is a global security, stressing that “we do not know what will happen in any place. But if you look at the impact of the Russia/ Ukraine war, a lot of fall out was observed even in faraway countries as grains, gasoline petroleum products became in short supply, showing that what happens in one remote place can affect others, and if you are producing vaccine in one part of the world if anything happens to that particular continent, the rest of the world will suffer.”Adding: “I had always advocated for a multi-focal approach to vaccine production as a matter of global health security issue. Apart from the Ministry of Health, many people here will recall the agony we suffered when the COVID-19 vaccines were first released.“Those who produced these vaccines were taking care of themselves without leaving any room for Africa and that was when the President declared vaccine manufacturing a national security item. we have been at that, preparing and working to indigenously have a vaccine production site“We have troubled NAFDAC until we got the WHO Maturity Level 3 which allows us to regulate vaccine manufacturing in Nigeria, and we are gunning for Maturity Level 4. So, with Prof Pate in charge of GAVI Vaccine Alliance, our chances are again improved to support the capacity to the manufacturing of vaccine.”The Minister urged Prof Pate to support Nigeria’s ambition to commence local production of vaccines.Ehanire, who described Pate’s appointment as well-deserved, said: “I received the news of the appointment of Prof Pate with great excitement. He is someone I have so much respect for and he deserves that position.“He is the first Nigerian and also the first African to hold that position. It was a validation because entrusting such a position to Nigeria is also saying something about us. Not long ago, we got very good news that we are getting to be in the good books of the Global Fund because not too long ago, they gave us a very generous grant, the largest grant they have ever given to any country. These are expressions of faith and confidence in all the processes that this country has put in place, and also a recognition of the new image of the country.“This is a very glorious appointment; we celebrate it. We have seen all the places Prof Pate has been to, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Ministry of Health, the World Bank, Harvard University and now, the GAVI. That is a string of achievements.“Before then, he had his footprints at the Ahmadu Bello University and Balewa College. GAVI is lucky to have Prof Pate as its CEO, with his pedigree in almost every areas of public health. GAVI is very lucky to have you. We will support you, it is a declaration of more confidence in our country”, the Minister said.Also speaking, Minister of State for Health, Hon. Ekumankama Joseph Nkama said that Pate was appointed the Chief executive of GAVI based on his accomplishments, adding that Pate will make the nation proud in his new office.On his part, the Chairman of, the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, stated that Prof Pate has the intellect, capacity and ability to achieve, adding that Nigeria has an opportunity to support the celebrant to succeed so that he can also support routine immunization and primary healthcare in the country.The Board of GAVI approved the appointment of Pate as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Global Vaccine Alliance following an extensive recruitment process.He was selected following a year-long recruitment process personally overseen by the Chairman of the GAVI Board, Prof José Manuel Barroso. Pate is expected to resume the role on August 3, thereby replacing Dr Seth Berkley, who will be stepping down after 12 years.

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2 March 2023
Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate to become next CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Feb 13, 2023Gavi, the Vaccine AllianceGavi, the Vaccine Alliance announced today the appointment of Dr Muhammad Ali Pate as its new Chief Executive Officer. Dr Pate will be officially starting as CEO on 3 August 2023. A proven global health leader with experience at the national and international levels, Dr Pate will lead Gavi as it continues its work to support routine immunisation, outbreak response and COVID-19 vaccinations around the world.Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, who was selected following a yearlong recruitment process personally overseen by the Chair of the Gavi Board, Professor José Manuel Barroso, will bring a wealth of experience to the role. A medical doctor trained in both internal medicine and infectious diseases, with an MBA from Duke University in the United States, Dr Pate served as Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health between 2011 and 2013. In this role, he led a flagship initiative to revive routine vaccinations and primary health care, chaired a presidential taskforce to eradicate polio and introduced new vaccines into the country.While serving as Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population of the World Bank and Director of the Global Financing Facility at the World Bank between 2019 and 2021, he led the Bank’s US$ 18 billion COVID-19 global health response and represented the Bank on various boards, including those of Gavi, the Global Fund, CEPI and UNAIDS. He is currently the Julio Frenk Professor of Public Health Leadership at Harvard Chan School of Public Health and has served on several health-focused boards and expert panels in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors during his career.Commenting on the appointment, Professor Barroso said: “Dr Muhammad Ali Pate stood out in a field of world-class candidates. With his knowledge and experience of both national immunization programming and international emergency response and global finance, I am confident that Gavi will continue to build on its vision and mission, as well as navigate the many challenges and opportunities we will face.”Dr Pate, whose appointment was confirmed today at an extraordinary meeting of the Gavi Board, said: “I’m deeply honoured to be joining Gavi as its incoming CEO. Gavi is one of the most impactful organisations in global health, a testament to the great work of the Alliance partners and Secretariat staff. It will be my privilege to lead it, building on the work of Dr Seth Berkley, and continue to support countries to scale up critical routine immunisation programmes, reach more zero-dose children, expand access to new vaccines, transform primary health care systems, and help fight outbreaks and future pandemics.”Sitting CEO Dr Seth Berkley has led Gavi for more than half of its existence, making it a centrepiece within the global health landscape, including recently co-establishing COVAX to serve countries during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, having so far shipped nearly 1.9 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to 146 countries. Since Dr Berkley took the helm in 2011, the Alliance has averted 11.8 million future deaths (compared to 4.5 million between 2000 and 2010); and has helped immunise more than 676 million children – more than double the 305 million children reached between 2000 and 2010.Thanks to Dr Berkley’s vision for health equity, Gavi has added a number of new vaccines to its portfolio during his tenure, including for HPV, polio, cholera and malaria, and in its current strategy cycle is focusing on reaching zero-dose children across marginalised communities. The Alliance also played an increasingly influential role in emergency response, developing vaccine stockpiles for diseases such as cholera and introducing innovative financing mechanisms to fund emergency purchase of Ebola and COVID-19 vaccines. The economic result of Gavi’s expansion of activities during his tenure has been profound, unlocking over US$ 160 billion of economic benefits compared to US$ 24 billion in its first ten years.Commenting on Dr Pate’s appointment, Dr Berkley said: “Leading Gavi and helping the Alliance to continually surpass itself in terms of saving lives, protecting children and supporting countries during global health emergencies has been the greatest honour of my career. I am proud and humbled to have been part of what the Alliance has achieved, and I am confident in its future under Muhammad’s leadership: having worked with him during his time as Minister and at the World Bank, I know he understands intimately the landscape we work in and will be uncompromising in his drive for public health equity.”Dr Berkley will continue to serve as CEO until 2 August 2023, while working with incoming CEO Dr Pate to ensure a smooth transition.

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2 March 2023
The addresses dedicated exclusively to women to know in 2023 in Paris : Heimat club by Waris Dirie

Jan 20, 2023Vogue France“Proud Female Fitness” is the credo of Heimat by Waris Dirie. Meaning “home” in German, Heimat has teamed up with model Waris Diris to bring this brand new private fitness club to life in the former Dapper Museum dedicated to African art. Enough to highlight this link between art and sport dear to the top Somali who participated in the curation and the benevolent atmosphere of this space spread over 4 floors. Thanks to a monthly subscription system, women find themselves in this cocoon where the practice of sport is supervised by attentive coaches, more than 50 various group lessons (cardio, boxing, dance, fitness, etc.), three rooms with state-of-the-art equipment (including the Kinesis machine, one of the only two available in Paris) as well as a basement dedicated to relaxation with a jacuzzi and sauna area or even a protein smoothie bar (and cocktails for the end of the day). Most ? Scattered around the venue, works of art by African female artists are all for sale and the proceeds will go to the Waris Dirie Desert Flower Foundation which fights against excision.

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2 March 2023
Padma Awards 2023: List of Science and Engineering Recipients Named for Civilian Awards

Jan 26, 2023KnownewsThe Government of India has announced the list of Padma Award winners for the year 2023. The Padma Awards are one of India’s highest civilian honors held annually on the eve of Republic Day. The awards are presented in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and outstanding service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of a higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). The award is intended to recognize achievement in any field of activity or discipline involving an element of public service.Padma Awards, which were established in the year 1954, are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day, except for short breaks in the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997.This year’s list consists of 10 names from science and technology. Shir Srinivas Varadhan is awarded the highest civilian honor Padma Vibhushan. Shri Deepak Dhar received Padma Bhushan, while eight people received Padma Shri in science and engineering.Laureates1. Padma VibhushanShri Srinivas Varadhan – Science & Technology – United States of America2. Padma BhushanShri Deepak Dhar – Science and Engineering – Maharashtra3. Padma ShriShri Khadar Valli Dudekula – Science and Engineering – KarnatakaShri Modadugu Vijay Gupta – Science and Engineering – TelanganaShri Ganesh Nagappa Krishnarajanagara – Science and Engineering – Andhra PradeshShri Arvind Kumar – Science and Engineering – Uttar Pradeshprof. (Dr.) Mahendra Pal – Science & Engineering – GujaratShri Bakshi Ram – Science and Engineering – HaryanaMs. Sujatha Ramdorai – Science and Engineering – CanadaShri Abbareddy Nageswara Rao – Science and Engineering – Andhra Pradesh

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2 March 2023
Two Female Scientists Win this year’s King Faisal Prize

January 04, 2023GlobeNewswireJeddah, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two women scientists were announced King Faisal Prize for Medicine and Science laureates for 2023: a Covid-19 vaccine developer and a nanotechnology scientist. Six others were announced King Faisal Prize laureates for having enriched humanity with key and invaluable achievements and discoveries in the fields of Medicine, Science, Arabic Language & Literature, Islamic Studies, and Serving Islam. The woman behind Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Professor Sarah Gilbert, the Saïd Chair of Vaccinology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University, was selected to receive King Faisal Prize in medicine. She has co-created the vaccine which has been in use in more than 180 countries saving billions of lives due to its efficiency, low cost and accessibility.The vaccine is called “ChAdOx1 nCoV-19” and was achieved in 10 months of work using a novel approach. Instead of the traditional vaccines’ method which uses a weakened or killed form of the original infection and requires a long time to develop in the human body, Gilbert genetically modified a weakened version of a common virus which caused a cold in chimpanzees to be injected in humans without causing an infection. This modified virus became the essence of the vaccine developed by Dr. Gilbert against coronavirus carrying the genetic instructions for the coronavirus spike protein. When entering the body cells, the virus uses a genetic code or instructions to produce the specific surface spike protein of the coronavirus inducing an immune response and preparing the immune system to attack coronavirus if it infects the body.Dr. Gilbert’s innovative vaccine technologies used lately for COVID-19 were also applied by her to Malaria, Ebola, Influenza, and MERS, with clinical trials of the latter taking place in the UK and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She also worked on developing a medicine for it. In fact, the patented ChAdOx1 technology was developed by Dr. Gilbert and other researchers at the University of Oxford in 2012. In 2014, she led the first trial of an Ebola vaccine after a large outbreak of the disease in West Africa. It was because of the ChAdOx1 technology and her accumulated research that the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was produced so quickly.The other woman scientist selected to receive King Faisal Prize in science is Professor Jackie Yi-Ru Ying; the A*STAR Senior Fellow and Director at NanoBio Lab, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research.Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two women scientists were announced King Faisal Prize for Medicine and Science laureates for 2023: a Covid-19 vaccine developer and a nanotechnology scientist. Six others were announced King Faisal Prize laureates for having enriched humanity with key and invaluable achievements and discoveries in the fields of Medicine, Science, Arabic Language & Literature, Islamic Studies, and Serving Islam. The woman behind Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Professor Sarah Gilbert, the Saïd Chair of Vaccinology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University, was selected to receive King Faisal Prize in medicine. She has co-created the vaccine which has been in use in more than 180 countries saving billions of lives due to its efficiency, low cost and accessibility.The vaccine is called “ChAdOx1 nCoV-19” and was achieved in 10 months of work using a novel approach. Instead of the traditional vaccines’ method which uses a weakened or killed form of the original infection and requires a long time to develop in the human body, Gilbert genetically modified a weakened version of a common virus which caused a cold in chimpanzees to be injected in humans without causing an infection. This modified virus became the essence of the vaccine developed by Dr. Gilbert against coronavirus carrying the genetic instructions for the coronavirus spike protein. When entering the body cells, the virus uses a genetic code or instructions to produce the specific surface spike protein of the coronavirus inducing an immune response and preparing the immune system to attack coronavirus if it infects the body.Dr. Gilbert’s innovative vaccine technologies used lately for COVID-19 were also applied by her to Malaria, Ebola, Influenza, and MERS, with clinical trials of the latter taking place in the UK and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She also worked on developing a medicine for it. In fact, the patented ChAdOx1 technology was developed by Dr. Gilbert and other researchers at the University of Oxford in 2012. In 2014, she led the first trial of an Ebola vaccine after a large outbreak of the disease in West Africa. It was because of the ChAdOx1 technology and her accumulated research that the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was produced so quickly.The other woman scientist selected to receive King Faisal Prize in science is Professor Jackie Yi-Ru Ying; the A*STAR Senior Fellow and Director at NanoBio Lab, Agency for Science, Technology, and Research.

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11 January 2023
Millions of Afghan children inoculated against measles, polio in 1st Statewide drive since 2021 t...

December 22, 2022UN NewsMillions of Afghan children have been vaccinated during the first nationwide integrated measles and polio campaign in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August 2021, the UN health agency said on Thursday.Afghanistan has vaccinated 5.36 million nine- to 59-month old children against measles while 6.1 million infants to 59-month-olds received oral polio vaccine during the vaccination drive held from 26 November to 12 December.Based on the data from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health Expanded Programme on Immunization, the campaign covered 329 districts in all 34 provinces of the country – with 4,341 vaccination teams comprised of four members on each team.“It warms my heart that we were able to protect Afghan children from measles and polio as we enter the harsh winter season in the country”, said Luo Dapeng, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Afghanistan.“I thank all the health workers, partners and donors who made this possible”.

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11 January 2023
[‘Greet Dad and sleep well’ — Akinwumi Adesina loses mum] We want to give our deepest condo...

December 22, 2022Independent Nigeria Eunice Adesina, the mother of Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), is dead.Adesina announced her demise in a tweet on his official Twitter handle on Thursday.She died at the age of 92.“My darling mother, Eunice O. Adesina passed away today at the age of 92. I am blessed you were my mother,” he wrote.“You gave birth to me, nursed me, cared for and brought me up. I am forever grateful Mum. So long sweet Mum, greet Dad and sleep well. I love you. Your loving baby, Akins.”Roland Adesina, the father of the AfDB president, died on March 28, 2018.The AfDB president had also tweeted about his father’s death at the time and described him as his best friend.“My darling father and best friend, Roland F. Adesina, passed away yesterday morning. I wouldn’t have been who I am today without your love and sacrifice. Thanks for sending me to school and being a role model. Rest in peace my very dear senior Ombros!” he wrote.

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11 January 2023

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Sunhak Peace Prize

Future generations refer not only to our own physical descendants
but also to all future generations to come.

Since all decisions made by the current generation will either positively
or negatively affect them, we must take responsibility for our actions.