- Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard has received the Joe Kiani Humanitarian Award for his work in saving lives in Mexico and Latin America.
- The award has previously been given to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Today, at the 10th Annual World Patient Safety, Science and Technology Summit in Newport Beach, California, in a ceremony attended by international leaders and health specialists and researchers, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard received the Joe Kiani Humanitarian Award for his work in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico.
The award was given by the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, a global nonprofit organization committed to the goal of achieving zero preventable patient deaths by 2030.
The foundation recognized Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard for saving lives as a result of his negotiations to obtain vaccines and hospital supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, under the instructions of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The Foreign Secretary expressed his appreciation for the award, saying, "This represents a commitment to not forget the lessons of the experience with Covid-19, because it is easy to forget and return to normality. Covid-19 was a tragedy for Mexico and for many countries." He added, "This award represents something important for Mexico: a commitment to improve patient safety in our healthcare system every day…Mexico is part of this movement, and we want to turn this idea into public policy for every hospital in our country and for every patient in Mexico's system."
Mr. Kiani said that the Foreign Secretary received the award "for everything he did. He saved countless lives [...] We try to present these humanitarian awards every year to people who have made a big difference over the previous year in patient safety."
The Patient Safety Movement Foundation is an organization that is represented in more than 40 countries around the world and recognized by the World Health Organization. It has a specific Global Patient Safety Action Plan.
In Mexico, the National Institute of Nutrition, the Juarez Hospital, the National Institute of Cardiology and the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Hospital Español, the UNAM School of Medicine, the Mexican Academy of Surgery, among other international organizations, as well as several hospitals in Jalisco, Sonora, Guanajuato and other states, are affiliated with the foundation.
The award, presented by Joe Kiani, has previously been given to former U.S. Presidents William Clinton and Barack Obama, and to Joseph Biden during his term as Vice President.
