The Global TB Programme at the World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates former Portuguese President Jorge Fernando Branco Sampaio for being awarded the first-ever United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize for his dedicated service to humanity.
Dr Sampaio received the award along with Dr Helena Ndume of Namibia during a ceremony as part of the annual UN commemoration of International Nelson Mandela Day. Among the humanitarian accomplishments for which he is cited is his work in fighting tuberculosis (TB).
In May 2006 the then UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, appointed Dr Sampaio as Special Envoy to Stop TB to help him raise the TB issue on the international political and development agendas. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon extended his mandate until the end of 2012.
“Dr Sampaio has been an outstanding humanitarian and a true leader in the fight for a world free of tuberculosis. He advocated incessantly for accelerating access to TB care and treatment for those most vulnerable to TB - mainly the poorest and most marginalised, increasing funding for TB and empowering communities,” said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme
Throughout his six-year tenure as Special Envoy, Dr Sampaio pursued an ambitious programme to raise visibility of the disease, its impacts and the targets set for turning around the TB epidemic under the Millennium Development Goals. He reached out personally to all G-8 leaders to prioritize tuberculosis action and, with the UN Secretary-General, to heads of state in the highest TB burden countries.
Among the highlights of his work, Dr Sampaio promoted the first Global Leaders Forum on TB and HIV co-infection in 2008 with the UN Secretary-General, former President Bill Clinton, heads of state and other leaders to commit to fight HIV-associated tuberculosis. In 2009 he joined Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, the Vice-Premier of China and Bill Gates in leading a ministerial conference on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Beijing. Also, as a result of Dr Sampaio's efforts to raise the profile of TB and HIV co-infection, the challenge of addressing the co-epidemics was included in the official agenda of the UN General Assembly Special Session on AIDS in 2011.
The Nelson Mandela Prize was established in June 2014 by the UN General Assembly to recognize the achievements of those who dedicate their lives to the service of humanity by promoting the principles of the United Nations while honouring Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life and legacy of reconciliation, political transition, and social transformation. It will be awarded once every five years to a male and female laureate.