Saima Wazed Hossain receives Ibrahim Memorial Gold Award

Saima Wazed Hossain, who leads a mental health campaign in Bangladesh, has been awarded the ‘Ibrahim Memorial Gold Medal’ 2O16 for her work building awareness about autism and neurodevelopment disorders.

The award, named after Dr Mohammed Ibrahim, a pre-eminent Bangladeshi physician who first thought of diabetic care in the country, is given in recognition of a person’s contribution in a certain field.

 

Dr Ibrahim realised that diabetes was a disease that not only needed a doctor’s help but a patient’s involvement in the treatment process as well, and founded the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh (then Pakistan) in 1956.

 

A licensed school psychologist in the US, Saima is the chairperson of the Bangladesh’s National Advisory Committee for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders. She is also a member of WHO’s Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health.

 

Daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, she spearheads the mental health campaign in Bangladesh, advocating a people-centric approach.

She also received the ‘WHO Excellence Award for Public Health’ for her contribution to public health in the 'national, regional and global levels'.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith handed over the award to the two recipients at a function on Saturday.

Prof AK Azad Khan, president of the Bangladesh Diabetic Association, was the other recipient.