NEW YORK, 12 April 2017 (UNFPA): Hans Rosling, a Swedish doctor and statistician, as well as the Association of Traditional Chiefs of Niger (Association des chefs traditionnels du Niger, ACTN), a community-based development organization, have won the 2017 United Nations Population Award.
Established by the General Assembly in 1981, the award recognizes outstanding achievements in population and health.
Dr. Rosling, who died earlier this year, had worked in population issues for more than 30 years. Among his contributions were creative presentations on global health and poverty, illustrated with a visualization software developed through his non-profit organization. The author of several publications, he regularly gave pro bono presentations to educate and raise awareness of global health issues.
Dr. Rosling studied statistics and medicine at Uppsala University, Sweden, and studied public health at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, India. He became a licensed doctor in 1976 and from 1997 onwards, was Professor of Global Health at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.
The recipient of numerous honours, Dr. Rosling was once listed as one of the 100 leading global thinkers by Foreign Policy, and one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine. He was widely recognized by numerous forums and won multiple awards from 2007 to 2014, including the Jubilee Prize from the Swedish Medical Society. He was in TIME’s world’s 100 most influential people in 2012.
ACTN was established in 1975 to help Niger’s sustainable development. The Association helps design development plans and put population issues at the centre of community and national development. According to Award Committee information, ACTN helped create an enabling environment to address population in Niger, breaking taboos by publicly committing to voluntary family planning and reproductive health. It has received many honours, including for its contributions to Niger’s 2012 census.
The Committee for the United Nations Population Award, which made the selections, is chaired by Ghana. It also includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Benin, Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Israel, Paraguay and Poland.
Past laureates include Bill and Melinda Gates, Dr. Allan Rosenfield, the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and the Population Council. The award is due to be presented at the United Nations on 22 June.
