Royal reward for fight against tropical diseases

Schistosomiasis Control Initiative highly commended for work in developing countries - <em>News</em>

Thursday 21 February 2008
By Abigail Smith

An initiative that has cured over 20 million people in developing countries of debilitating tropical diseases has been presented with a prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize at Buckingham Palace.

The Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI), directed by Professor Alan Fenwick of Imperial's Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, received the Prize for its work tackling schistosomiasis in countries across sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately 200 million people are at risk of the disease that can impair development and cause liver and kidney damage.

The Rector, Sir Richard Sykes and Professor Fenwick visited Buckingham Palace on Thursday 14 February to collect the Prize from The Queen, accompanied by team members Professor Joanne Webster, Mike French, Artemis Koukounari, Fiona Fleming, Lynsey Blair, Elisa Bosque-Oliva, all from the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology.

SCI advisory board chair and Rector-elect Sir Roy Anderson and Faculty of Medicine Principal and advisory board member, Professor Stephen Smith, also attended.

Professor Fenwick expressed delight at this recognition, and the memorable experience for him and the students. “I would like to thank the many people who have contributed to the success of this project so far, and hope that the extra publicity will lead to a greater realisation of what can be done to improve the health and quality of life of people, and especially children, in Africa”. He added: “Our ambition is for SCI and their partners to expand their coverage to offer treatment to millions more disadvantaged children in Africa."

Congratulating the team members at a lunch held at Imperial in their honour, Sir Richard said: "You are the kind of people the world needs more of. You haven't necessarily chosen the easiest of lives, but you make countless other people's lives better through selflessly giving your time and energy. We don't need a prize from Her Majesty, welcome though that is, to appreciate how important you all are."

The SCI was established with a donation of $30 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2002 and is a collaboration between the Foundation, Imperial's Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, the Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies and the World Health Organisation. With further funding received from USAID and Geneva Global, SCI is now operating in 8 countries in Africa.