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Benin health centre wins Pate Award

Friday, 14 June 1996: The Centre régional pour le développement et la santé (CREDESA) (Regional Centre for Health and Development) of Benin has won the 1996 Maurice Pate Award for its outstanding work in primary health care and community financing.

The award, named in honour of the first UNICEF Executive Director, is given to an institution, organization or individual in a developing country for extraordinary leadership in and contribution to the survival, protection and development of children. A US$25,000 stipend comes with it.

CREDESA is a primary health care research, training and services centre serving west and central Africa. Its research has enabled African health professionals to develop and test community-based health systems. It has been instrumental in building a model to revitalize peripheral health services through community financing and co-management. Such a scheme has helped shape Benin's national health policy and is now being implemented in more than 40 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

UNICEF Executive Board President, Ambassador Ion Gorita of Romania, will present the award on Wednesday, 19 June 1996, during the annual Board session.

Previous award recipients include Professor Ihsan Dogramaci of Turkey, the Pan-African Institute for Development, the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Roman Catholic Church of El Salvador, First Lady Suzanne Mubarak of Egypt, the Child to Child Trust, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, and the All China Women's Federation.

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