The University of Pretoria (UP) has awarded World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus an honorary doctorate for his “many and significant contributions”, which span three decades.

UP Faculty of Health Sciences Dean Professor Tiaan de Jager said it was a privilege for the University to honour such an outstanding health leader.

The honorary doctorate (honoris causa) is in recognition of Ghebreyesus’s outstanding contributions as a global health expert, scholar, advocate and diplomat.

“Dr Ghebreyesus’s notable achievements in global health leadership, particularly in the areas of malaria, HIV/AIDS, and maternal and child health, have been impactful. His enormous contribution globally in the fields of public health and epidemiology as a scientist, global health expert, diplomat and advocate together with his innovative, bold dynamism to reshape global public health have been unmatched,” said De Jager.

He recounted Ghebreyesus’s first-hand experience in research, particularly in the field of malaria, and his numerous articles in prominent scientific journals on a range of global health topics.

Ghebreyesus had held various high-ranking positions in healthcare before his election in 2017 as WHO director-general, an appointment that saw him become the first African to lead the global public health agency.

“Over the years, through his leadership of several international health initiatives, Dr Ghebreyesus has ensured the foregrounding of critical health concerns on global development agendas. As Chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, he led comprehensive reforms to set the organisation back on track; championed country leadership as Chair of the Programme Coordinating Board for UNAIDS; elevated malaria on development agendas during his chairmanship of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership; and spotlighted maternal, newborn and child health as Co-Chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health,” said De Jager.

He added that his steering of global efforts to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic cemented his status as a global health leader and brought him worldwide recognition.

“He galvanised manufacturers of medical supplies to work with the WHO to scale up access to personal protective equipment for health workers on the frontlines of the pandemic, and in collaboration with health partners, WHO launched the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative to bolster production, development and equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments,” De Jager recounted.

Under his directorship, Ghebreyesus has driven WHO initiatives that seek to have measurable impact in countries.

Ghebreyesus’s numerous distinctions include being the first non-American to receive the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award in 2011 and 2018; he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Benin; he was awarded the National Order of the Lion of Senegal; and was the recipient of the Oswaldo Cruz Medal of Merit in recognition of his services to public health in Brazil. In 2020, he was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of the Year and received the African of the Year Award from African Leadership magazine.