Rafael Vilasanjuan Receives Anesvad Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for a Career Dedicated to Global Health

The Anesvad Foundation has granted Rafael Vilasanjuan, Director of Translation and Societal Impact at ISGlobal, the Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the tenth edition of its annual prizes. The award highlights his longstanding commitment to the right to health, particularly in vulnerable contexts, and his key role in raising awareness of neglected diseases such as noma. The jury acknowledged his contributions through initiatives that combine public engagement, advocacy and cooperation, such as “Noma Echoes”, a project addressing the impact of this disease in Mozambique.

A leading figure in global health cooperation

Rafael Vilasanjuan is a journalist and global health expert with extensive experience in humanitarian crisis management and advancing access to healthcare. He was Secretary General of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), where he led the Access to Essential Medicines Campaign and helped create DNDi to develop treatments for neglected diseases. He has implemented health strategies in conflict zones and advocated for equitable access to medical care. At ISGlobal, where he heads the Translation and Societal Impact area, he has promoted the translation of scientific knowledge into public health policy and promoted initiatives such as the International Chagas Coalition. Since 2016, he has also played a key role in Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, representing hundreds of civil society organisations.

Research and awareness for a neglected disease: noma

The prize will be allocated to “Noma Echoes”, a project that raises awareness of noma—an infectious and highly stigmatizing disease that affects children living in extreme poverty, often leading to severe facial disfigurement and death. The initiative promotes awareness, research, and capacity building in Mozambique, where noma remains largely absent from public health agendas. 

Since 2015, the Anesvad Foundation Awards have recognised 48 projects and initiatives in over ten African countries, highlighting efforts to ensure access to healthcare where it is most needed. In addition to Rafael Vilasanjuan, who shares the Lifetime Achievement Award with Cameroonian scientist Sara Eyangoh, this edition also honoured Alegría sin Fronteras for its diagnostic tool for rural Ethiopia; Tim Africa Aid Ghana for its community-based approach to neglected tropical diseases; and Asociación Karibu for its work with the African migrant population in Spain.