Prof. Miriam Were nominated for 2022 Nobel Peace Prize

Renowned public health professional, Prof. Miriam Were has put Kenya on the map once again after being nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. The professor has the opportunity to become the second woman to be the laureate after late Prof. Wangari Maathai.

The nomination is in recognition of her tireless work since the 1970s in promoting trust between governments, health authorities, and the citizens through culturally sensitive programmes. Prof. Were was nominated by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Quaker Peace and Social Witness (QPSW) for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

Prof. Were was recruited to UNICEF from the Department of Community Health in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Nairobi where she was the head of the department.

While teaching at the University in Nairobi, she initiated the Community-Based Health Care (CBHC) project in Kakamega, in Western Kenya. Prof. Were was the Director of CBHC in the period from 1976 through 1982. This project won the UNICEF Maurice Pate Award of 1978, the first time any African institution had won this award.

In her remarks about the nomination, Joyce Ajlouny, General Secretary of AFSC said, “It is an honour to have the opportunity to nominate Dr Miriam Were for the Nobel Peace Prize.”

“Prof. Were’s work on community-based health initiatives around the world is powerful and essential for building a just and peaceful future. Over the last two years,” she added. “The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical importance of public health policy and global health equity.”

Prof. Were’s focus has been on community health approaches, the efforts which they argue facilitate the uptake of health initiatives among the vulnerable people, including the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign.