18/11/2019
PUNE:
Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, founder and chairman of Serum Institute
of India, was conferred with the prestigious ‘ICMR Lifetime Achievement Medal’ for
his outstanding contribution in healthcare, by Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation at the Headquarters of Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR), New Delhi.
Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla has been widely
acknowledged for his unparalleled and continuous mission of global immunization
and his path defining philanthropic initiatives. In 1966, Dr. Poonawalla
embarked on his journey to establish Serum Institute of India. Today, Serum
Institute is the world’s largest producer of vaccines by number of doses,
producing more than 1.5 billion doses a year of life-saving vaccines used in
over 170 countries.
These vaccines used to cure infection from Rabies,
Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Whooping Cough, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Tuberculosis,
Influenza, Meningitis, Rotavirus and Hepatitis B Vaccines among others. Saving
the lives of more than 40 million mostly under-privileged children across the
globe, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla becomes the face of noble social services.
This is not the first feather in Dr.Poonawalla’s
hat. Recently, he was conferred with the prestigious ‘Asian Business Leadership
Forum (ABLF) Lifetime Achievement Award’ at Dubai, besides 'Degree of
Doctor of Science, honoris causa' by
the University of Oxford, U.K. at a ceremony in June.
He was also conferred with the honorary degree
of 'Doctor of Humane Letters' by the University of Massachusetts,
Boston, USA last year for his outstanding contribution in improving the
public health for all communities.
Also known as a philanthropist, focusing on
public causes and undeserved communities,
Dr Cyrus Poonawalla earlier this year was felicitated with the
first-ever 'Vaccine Hero' Award by GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative).
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2005 for his contribution to
medicine, and a life-time achievement by then prime minister Manmohan Singh.
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