Dr Mike Ryan accepts inaugural Cameron Award from RCSI

The impact of the Covid-19 across the globe will be felt for “many years to come”, according to Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme.

Sligo-born Dr Ryan was speaking as he accepted the inaugural Sir Charles A. Cameron Award for Population Health from the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in recognition of his global leadership during the pandemic.

A leading public health doctor in 19th Century Dublin who dealt with frequent outbreaks of scarlet fever, dysentery, smallpox and typhoid, Cameron was RCSI President 1885-86.

Accepting the award which celebrated Cameron’s legacy, Dr Ryan said: “The link between Sir Charles Cameron and the pandemic we are living through is entirely relevant.

“He shows us why it is so important to stand up as advocates for the underpinning determinants of health.”

Dr Ryan currently leads the WHO team responsible for the international response to Covid-19.

He has been at the forefront of managing acute risks to global health for 25 years after joining WHO in 1996.

“This award is a huge personal honour for me. I accept it on behalf of Irish people working at home and abroad in the spirit of Cameron,” Dr Ryan added.

RCSI Chief Executive Prof. Cathal Kelly said the award represented Cameron’s “relentless drive to improve the lives and health of the citizens of Victorian Dublin and the role of population health in the pandemic we are living through today”.

“We commend Dr Mike Ryan for his dedication to evidence-based public health and the clarity and honesty he employs when engaging with the public, which is an example for health professionals across the globe,” Prof. Kelly continued.

“The importance of population health, so obvious in the impact of Charles Cameron’s work, has never been as relevant to our lives as it is today. Through the work of Dr Mike Ryan and his colleagues across the world, we see clearly the role of public health and epidemiology in saving lives.”

The award was presented to Dr Ryan during a webinar on Tuesday, March 2.