Jailed Indian Pediatrician Wins 2008 Jonathan Mann
Award for Global Health and Human Rights
Mon Apr 21, 3:56 PM ET
To: NATIONAL EDITORS
Contact: Laura Barnitz of Global Health Council,
+1-202-833-5900, x3204. lbarnitz@globalhealth.org
WASHINGTON, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
Global Health Council is pleased to announce that the
winner of the 2008 Jonathan Mann Award for Global
Health and Human Rights is Dr. Binayak Sen of Raipur,
Chhattisgarh, India.
Sen, a physician who helped establish a hospital
serving poor mine workers in the region, is an officer
of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), a
leading human rights organization in India. He has
been imprisoned in Raipur for nearly a year without
trial as a result of allegations that he violated
state antiterrorism laws. Sen denies committing any
crime.
The Global Health Council and several prominent global
health organizations have issued a statement of
support for Sen (See link below.), requesting that
Indian authorities assure the restoration of due
process, and find the means to allow the doctor to
receive his award in person in Washington, DC on May
29th, 2008, at the 35th Annual International
Conference on Global Health.
This 58-year-old pediatrician was selected by an
international jury of public health professionals for
this prestigious award because of his years of service
to poor and tribal communities in India, his effective
leadership in establishing self-sustaining health care
services where none existed, and his unwavering
commitment to civil liberties and human rights. In
addition to working with the PUCL, Sen and his wife,
Dr. Ilina Sen, are the founders of Rupantar, a
community-based nongovernmental organization that has
trained, deployed and monitored the work of community
health workers spread throughout 20 villages.
Rupantars activities include initiatives to counter
alcohol abuse and violence against women, and to
promote food security.
Dr. Sens accomplishments speak volumes about what can
be achieved in very poor areas when health
practitioners are also committed community leaders,
said Dr. Nils Daulaire, president of the Global Health
Council. He staffed a hospital created by and funded
by impoverished mine workers, and he has spent his
lifetime educating people about health practices and
civil liberties -- providing information that has
saved lives and improved conditions for thousands of
people. His good works need to be recognized as a
major contribution to India and to global health; they
are certainly not a threat to state security.
Large areas of Chhattisgarh are embroiled in an armed
conflict involving rebels, the state government and
law enforcement, and armed civilian militias. Sen was
detained on May 14, 2007, and accused of passing notes
from a rebel leader he was treating in jail to someone
outside the prison. Sen denies committing any crime
and says his activities in the jail were supervised by
prison authorities.
Many organizations and prominent persons have
protested Sens arrest and his long imprisonment
without trial. He was recently released from a period
of solitary confinement and has reportedly suffered
health problems resulting from his nearly year-long
imprisonment.
The Mann Award is presented annually at the Global
Health Councils international conference to a
practitioner who makes significant contributions
toward practical work in the field and in difficult
circumstances; highlights the linkage of health with
human rights; works predominantly in developing
countries and with marginalized people; and
demonstrates serious and long-term commitment.
For the Statement of Support on Behalf of Dr. Binayak
Sen issued by global health and human rights
organizations, see
http://www.globalhealth.org/news/article/9833.
For information about the Jonathan Mann Award for
Global Health and Human Rights, see
http://www.globalhealth.org/conference/view_top.php3?id=746.
The Global Health Council is the worlds largest
membership alliance dedicated to saving lives by
improving health throughout the world. The Council
serves and represents public health organizations and
professionals working in more than 140 countries on
six continents. www.globalhealth.org
Laura Barnitz, Global Health Council
202.833.5900, x3204 or lbarnitz@globalhealth.org
SOURCE Global Health Council
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