A Filipina doctor has bagged the 2023 United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize during the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva.
Dr. Maria Asuncion Silvestre, a renowned clinician and researcher, a passionate advocate for exclusive breastfeeding and the founder of a non-governmental organization “Health of Mother and Child”, was among those recognized during the World Health Assembly for their outstanding achievements with proven impact for health gains in countries.
The 2023 United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize is awarded to Dr Maria Asuncion Silvestre @MianneSilvestre from the #Philippines for her work in improving the health of mothers and newborns.#WHA76 pic.twitter.com/xNBm2zGj8a
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 26, 2023
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Silvestre designed a pioneering protocol called “Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care Protocol” which helps bridge the health equity gap.
It consists of a simple set of choreographed actions for health workers attending a mother during delivery and her newborn immediately after birth and during the first week of the child’s life. Silvestre’s work has helped save lives at national level and beyond.
Moreover, Silvestre scaled up the “First Embrace” campaign for Early Essential Newborn Care, a set of simple WHO-recommended and cost-effective interventions, in collaboration with her national government and 17 other countries of the WHO Western Pacific Region.
“Nonseparated, the mother/newborn pair is our first food system. We should protect it as passionately and as furiously as we protect our agricultural lands, coral reefs, and rainforests,” said Silvestre during the awarding ceremony.
“We sought to ‘rechoreograph’ actions in the first minutes to hours after birth, eliminating unnecessary actions, so we formulated a timebound sequence of steps. Many health facilities in my country and elsewhere implemented the Protocol and reaped the benefits. Evidence shows that receiving at least one of the four core steps was protective, the more elements of essential care received, the more newborn survival improved. Breastfeeding saves lives,” she added.
The United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize is awarded to health workers, including scientists, researchers, workers and specialists, who made achievements that benefit health in its various sectors and address health challenges globally.
