First Prize on Excellence in Reporting on Tuberculosis, and 2008 Tuberculosis Survival Prize and Distinguished Achievements on Combating Tuberculosis Award Announced in Paris.

The recipients of the first Award for Excellence in Reporting on Tuberculosis, supported by the Stop TB Partnership and Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, the Tuberculosis Survival Prize, and the Kochon Prize for Distinguished Achievements on Combating Tuberculosis were awarded today, opening day of  The Union Conference in Paris, and on October 16.

Dr Jaime Bayona of Socios En Salud Sucursal Peru (SES) and Prof. Denis Mitchison received this year’s Kochon prize, which is awarded annually to persons, institutions or organizations that have made a highly significant contribution to combating tuberculosis (TB). The selections were announced at the opening ceremony of the World Conference of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, held at the Palais des Congrès in Paris today.

Dr Jaime Bayona is the Founding Director of SES, a Lima-based organization that has had an important impact on policies for prevention and treatment of drug-resistant TB and HIV and provided training and technical assistance around the world. Dr Bayona is a leader in international health and social medicine, an authority on programmatic approaches to the control of multidrug-resistant TB and a long-time advocate for community-based primary care. He is pictured here with Dr. Anany Gretchko Prosper from Zanmi Lasante (left) and Paul Zintl, COO, Partners In Health (right).

On October 16, Dr. Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, and Patrizia Carlevaro, who heads the Eli Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, introduced the winner of the first Award for Excellence in Reporting on Tuberculosis and the recipient of the Tuberculosis Survival Prize: respectively Brian Ligomeka of Malawi and Speranta Terrei, Moldovian NGO in the city of Balti.

The Award for Excellence in Reporting on Tuberculosis is supported by the Stop TB Partnership and Lilly MDR-TB Partnership and recognizes outstanding reporting and commentary in print and on the web that materially increases the public’s knowledge and understanding of tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), in countries affected by the disease.

Mr Ligomeka’s (pictured here accepting the Award) winning article, Malawi: Fighting TB as part of the deadly trio, appeared in The Sunday Times of Malawi. Second place goes to Ilze Vainovska of Latvia, whose article We can, was published in Kursas Laik. The third place winner is Berlanty Refaat of Egypt, whose article Let the shisha talk appeared the news web site www.kelmetnamag.com.

During the same ceremony, the Tuberculosis Survival Project Award 2008, was accepted on behalf of Speranta Terrei of Moldova by South African media personality and TB survivor Ms Gerry Elsdon. She is pictured here with Paul Thorn, Coordinator of The Tuberculosis Survival Project, an initiative he launched on World TB day, in March 2006, and XDR-TB survivor.

Watch Video: Dr. Marcos Espinal, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, introduces the first winner of the newly created Award for Excellence in Reporting on Tuberculosis: Brian Ligomeka of Malawi.