The honors men and women "with outstanding achievements in the fields of medical research and medical services to combat infectious and other diseases in Africa, thus contributing to the health and welfare of the African people and of all humankind."Japan, Cabinet Office

The prize, officially named "The Prize in Recognition of Outstanding Achievements in the Fields of Medical Research and Medical Services in Africa Awarded in Memory of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi," is managed by

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

(JICA).Adisa, Banji.
"Japan to promote Africa's growth at Tokyo confab,"
''Nigeria Daily News.'' March 25, 2008.

Background

The Japanese Government established the Noguchi Prize in July 2006 as a new international medical research and services award. Release of news about the planned prize was timed to mark the official visit to by Prime Minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...

to Africa in May 2006. The announcement of this new international prize also marked the 80th anniversary of Dr. Noguchi’s death. The Prize aims to honor individuals with outstanding achievements in combating various infectious diseases in Africa or in establishing innovative medical service systems. As preliminary discussions about the award were disclosed, Koizumi explained that he hoped that many countries in the world would take an interest in this initiative. The awarding of the Noguchi Prize is planned to be a keynote event at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). TICAD is a policy forum which Japan initiated in 1993. Other co-organizers are the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (OSSA), the

United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. Over time, the TICAD meetings have evolved into a major global framework to facilitate the implementation of initiatives for promoting African development under the dual principle of African "ownership" and international "partnership".Du Guodong
"Backgrounder: Tokyo Int'l Conference on African Development (TICAD),"
''China View'' (Xinhua). May 27, 2008. * At the first conference (TICAD-I), African countries and their development partners determined to do their utmost for African stability and prosperity. * At TICAD-II, African countries and their development partners agreed on the "Tokyo Agenda for Action" (TAA), the strategic and action oriented guideline, with poverty reduction in Africa and its integration into the global economy as two fundamental goals. * TICAD-III brought together some 1,000 delegates, including 23 heads of state and the Chairperson of the

African Union Commission The Commission of the African Union acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union (and is somewhat analogous to the European Commission). It consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of ...

. African countries and their development partners reviewed the achievements of the ten year TICAD process, discussed the future direction it should take in light of the latest developments on the African continent and in the international arena, and declared the "TICAD Tenth Anniversary Declaration". * TICAD-IV aimed to mobilizes knowledge and resources of the international community in the core areas of boosting economic growth, ensuring human security and addressing environment and climate change issues. TICAD IV is scheduled to conclude with the adoption of the "Yokohama Declaration", outlining guiding principles and approaches to African development among TICAD stakeholders, as well as the "Yokohama Action Plan" and the "Yokohama Follow-up Mechanism", laying out a road map for action-oriented initiatives with measurable targets.

Hideyo Noguchi

Hideyo Noguchi , also known as , was a prominent Japanese bacteriologist who in 1911 discovered the agent of syphilis as the cause of progressive paralytic disease. Early life Noguchi Hideyo whose childhood name was Seisaku Noguchi was born to a family of farme ...

was a prominent Japanese

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learning about bacteria, ...

who discovered the agent of

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...

in 1911. Noguchi's work would later attract the scrutiny of the committee evaluating nominations for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. The Nobel Foundation archives have been only recently opened for public inspection; and what was once only speculation is now confirmed. In 1914, for example, Dr. Ikutaro Hirai of Kyoto nominated Noguchi for the Nobel Prize in Medicine because of his bacteriological and biological works. In 1918, Noguchi traveled extensively in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

to do research for a

vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

for

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

. He traveled to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

to try to confirm his findings; and he wanted to test the hypothesis that yellow fever was caused by

spirochaete A spirochaete () or spirochete is a member of the phylum Spirochaetota (), (synonym Spirochaetes) which contains distinctive diderm (double-membrane) gram-negative bacteria, most of which have long, helically coiled (corkscrew-shaped or s ...

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

instead of a

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

. While working in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, Gold Coast (modern-day

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

), he was himself struck down by the yellow fever virus. His last words were reported to have been, ''"I don't understand."'' After his death, Noguchi's body was returned to the United States; but the Noguchi Prize is arguably poised to become a more meaningful memorial than his modest grave marker in New York City's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Inaugural award in 2008

The first laureates of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize, like Noguchi himself, are both medical doctors with a career-long interest in epidemiology and public health. They are Dr.

Brian Greenwood Sir Brian Mellor Greenwood, CBE, FRCP, FRS (born 1938) is a British physician, biomedical research scientist, academic, and recipient of the first Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize. Greenwood is the Manson Professor of Clinical Tropical Medicine, Lo ...

and Dr. Miriam Were. For the honorees, the Prize represents both an acknowledgment of their past accomplishments and an investment in their prospective contributions in the years ahead. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda made the actual award presentation; and the Emperor and Empress were present at the 2008 ceremony along with a large number of African heads of state. The presentation ceremony and laureate lectures coincided with TICAD-IV, which was held in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

in late May 2008. This year's conference venue was moved from Tokyo to Yokohama as another way of honoring the man after whom the prize was named. In 1899, Dr. Noguchi worked at the Yokohama Port Quarantine Office as an assistant quarantine doctor. Prof. Greenwood, the Manson Professor of Clinical Tropical Medicine at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

(

LSHTM The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

), was honored in the Medical Research category; and his laureate lecture topic was "Malaria elimination – Is it possible?" Prof. Were, chairperson of Kenya's National AIDS Control Council (NACC), chairperson of the

African Medical and Research Foundation African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

( AMREF) and formerly Professor of Community Health at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

School of Medicine, was honored in the Medical Services category; and her laureate lecture was "Potential for Improvement in Africa's Health Through Evidence and Persistence in the Spirit of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi." With significantly large money prizes attending this award, the Noguchi Prize already rivals the major established scientific awards. From the outset, the 2008 Noguchi Prizes—consisting of a citation, a medal and an honorarium of 100 million yen (US$843,668) -- were only intended to be the first in a continuing series; and subsequent prizes are expected to be awarded every five years. The prize has been made possible through a combination of government funding and private donations.

List of laureates

The Japanese government has commemorated Dr. Noguchi's life by printing his portrait on Japanese 1000 yen

banknotes A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

since 2004; and this new initiative intends to do more than honoring the man himself. The Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize is expected to draw attention to those whose own work mirrors what Dr. Noguchi strove to achieve. Medical Research Category *2019 Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum (Democratic Republic of the Congo), General Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), Professor of Medical Microbiology/ Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa *2013 Peter Piot (Belgium) *2008

(UK). Medical Services Category *2019 Francis Gervase Omaswa (Republic of Uganda) Executive Director of African Center for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) *2013 Alex Coutinho (Uganda)Osaki, Tomohiro
"Belgian, Ugandan win Noguchi prize,"
''Japan Times.'' 2 June 2013; retrieved 2013-6-2. *2008 Miriam Were (Kenya).Japan, Cabinet Office
press release.
/ref>

Notes

References

* D'Amelio, Dan
''Taller Than Bandai Mountain: The Story of Hideyo Noguchi.''
New York:

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

. (cloth) * Flexner, Simon. (1929)
"Hideyo Noguchi: A Biographical Sketch,"
in ''Science,'' Vol. 69, p. 653. * Kita, Atsushi. (2005)
''Dr. Noguchi's Journey: A Life of Medical Search and Discovery''
(tr., Peter Durfee). Tokyo:

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', '' Afternoon'', '' Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' ...

. (cloth)

External links

* Japanese Government Internet TV
streaming video, "Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize," 2007/04/26 (5 mins.)
*

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government object ...

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state ...

Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize
* Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)

*

National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...

(NDL):
Noguchi portrait
*

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (

)
Greenwood press release
*

( AMREF)
Were press release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hideyo Nogouchi Africa Prize Health in Africa Science and technology in Africa Awards established in 2008 African awards Academic awards Humanitarian and service awards Medicine awards Japanese science and technology awards