VP presents Best Minister Award to Afghan Health Minister

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, presented the Best Minister Award to Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz, Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, in recognition for his efforts in improving the lives and health of the people of his country.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, awarded the winner, following a short video on Dr. Feroz’s achievements in the public health sector.

Six ministers from around the world competed for the Best Minister Award, which relies on various selection criteria and procedures to determine the countries that have made a concrete contribution towards community development, as well as individual ministers who have contributed to social and economic sectors.

The Best Minister Award recognises the exceptional efforts of government ministers at demonstrating excellence in the public sector, designing and implementing successful, scalable and sustainable initiatives for socio-economic betterment of their citizens, and inspiring and leading other government leaders and service providers to promote innovation and foresight in shaping public discourse on the global issues of today and tomorrow.

The Best Minister Award reflects future government philosophy and the plans of the World Government Summit (WGS) for shaping a better future for mankind.

While in office, he spearheaded a nation-wide anti-polio vaccination campaign for 9.5 million children, established a health data base and launched a National Health Strategy 2020.

His efforts contributed to reduce the mortality rate in Afghanistan for under five-year-olds by 44 percent, maternal mortality rate by 19 percent and increased life expectancy at birth by seven years.

The eight dimensions against which the nominations and assessments are based are:Social Impact; Economic Impact, Outreach; Foresight; Innovation; Leadership; Scalability and Sustainability.

The Award was launched during the Summit's fourth edition in 2016 in partnership between the WGS Organisation and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Middle East.

The first three winners being Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's Minister of Finance, in 2018; Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Minister of Health of the Republic of Senegal, in 2017; and Greg Hunt, Australian Minister of the Environment, who won the first edition of the Award in 2016.

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