A Nigeria born Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Ibrahim Abubakar, has won the $100,000 Roux Prize by University of Washington for his work in improving health outcomes in the last 30 years.
The Roux Prize is awarded by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, The Nation Newspaper said.
The report noted that, Abubakar, dean of Faculty of Population Health Sciences at University College, London (UCL), received $100,000 at the ceremony in London.
“The award is to reinforce his efforts to support health systems in Nigeria and Africa’s Sahel region, benefiting some of the world’s poorest countries,” UCL indicated.
Similarly, the Director of IHME, Chris Murray, praised Abubakar for contributing to global health. “His expertise and advocacy have affected policy implementation and people,” he said.
Murray stated that, the Nigerian embodies what the Roux Prize represents: innovation, ambition, and collaboration.
“The world of public health is a stronger place because of his contributions and commitment to change,” he added.
Abubakar’s greatest achievement is his work on The Lancet Nigeria Commission, which led to Nigeria passing a law mandating basic health insurance and creation of a vulnerable fund that covers 83 million underprivileged, UCL said.
He led a multidisciplinary team on an analysis of Nigeria’s health system supported by Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data, which identified gaps and recommended key areas to improve the system in March 2022.
