Public health prizes and awards Sasakawa Health PrizeThe Sasakawa Health Prize was established in 1984 upon the initiative and with funds provided by the late Mr Ryoichi Sasakawa, Chairman of the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation (now the Nippon Foundation) and President of Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation (now Sasakawa Health Foundation) to contribute to achieving WHO’s goal of “Health for All”. The concept of "Primary Health Care (PHC)" was introduced in the late 1970s as a means of ensuring “Health for All.”
Recognizing the importance of promoting PHC throughout the world, the Prize aims at encouraging the further development of outstanding innovative and sustainable work in health development, such as the promotion of given health programmes or notable advances in primary health care, that has already been accomplished and extends far beyond the call of normal duties, as per the Statutes of the Prize.
The Prize consists of a statuette and a sum of money of the order of US$ 30 000 to be given to individuals, and/or of the order of US$ 40 000 to be given to institutions that have accomplished outstanding innovative work in health development.
The Prize is awarded at a special ceremony during a plenary of the World Health Assembly. It is presented by the President of the World Health Assembly, together with the Director-General of the WHO and a representative of the foundation.
Mr Amadou Ouattara accepting the Sasakawa Health Prize on behalf of the Banconi Community Health Association (ASACOBA) (Mali) in May 2026
Procedure for the proposal and selection of candidates
Any national health administration as well as any former recipient of the prize may nominate a candidate for the award. Current and former staff members of the World Health Organization and current members of the Executive Board are ineligible to receive the award.
The guidelines (especially paragraph 4, regarding the selection criteria, and 6 and 7, regarding adequate documentation) should be read carefully before the application form is completed.
The application form should include a description of the candidate’s achievements relating to the area of focus of the Prize, emphasize how the candidature meets the selection criteria that are included in the Guidelines for the Prize, and how the award funds will be used to further develop the work.
Based on applications received by the Director-General of WHO and his/her technical comments, the Prize Selection Panel meets to decide on the recommendation to be made to the Executive Board, which designates the recipients of the Prize.
