Kuwait’s Al-Sumait Prize honours researches on malaria, malnutrition

The Board Trustees meeting of the AlSumait Prize for African Development has honoured ground-breaking researches on tackling childhood malaria and addressing undernourishment in Africa, which both impact the lives of millions of children across the continent.

The Board awarded the 2015 Al-Sumait Prize for Health to Professor Kevin Marsh from the University of Oxford and African Academy of of Sciences, Kenya, for his sustained efforts to control and eradicate malaria, which impacts the health of millions of African children.

The 2016 Al-Sumait Prize for Food Security honoured two organizations, the Sweet Potato for Nutrition Team International Potato Centre, Peru, for advancing the contribution of sweet potato to African farmers and households to address Vitamin A deficiency, one of the most pernicious forms of undernourishment, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria, for its work in improving the yields and nutritional quality of major staple food crops, such as cassava, banana and maize.

Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Director General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), which administers the awards said the Board of Trustees is ‘proud to award the prizes to all three recipients, who have made major contributions to improving the lives of millions of people throughout Africa.