The Award was established in 2019 at the initiative of Health Ministers from WHO’s African Region Member States to mark the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth and his extraordinary life and contribution to the world.
At the 71st World Health Assembly in May 2018, ministers said: “As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Health Organization’s mission to provide health coverage for all, we also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Alma-Ata Declaration on primary health care with its total focus on community, which is essential for universal health coverage, reflecting the values and principles for which Nelson Mandela fought and lived.”
The award honours Nelson Mandela’s outstanding role in promoting and protecting human rights, in the global fight against HIV, AIDS and tuberculosis and the stigma and discrimination associated with these diseases, and in promoting universal access to health care with great vision in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda for the Achievement of Health Goals 2016-2030.
Nelson Mandela said: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, shelter and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
His Excellency Mkolisi Nkosi, South Africa’s Ambassador to the United Nations and other organisations in Geneva, told the Health Assembly in May 2024: “May this award continue to inspire your work and that of others in our efforts to ensure health for all and to advance the ideals of social equality that Nelson Mandela represented.”