Each year, WHO honours individuals and organizations from each of the six WHO regions for their outstanding contributions to tobacco control. The recipients of the 2026 awards are:
WHO Director-General Special award:
His Excellency, Dr Shaya Mohsin Zindani, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Republic of Yemen
African Region
Dr Nare Narcisse Mathurin, Public Health Specialist, Ministry of Health, Burkina Faso
Dr Louise Mapleh Kpoto, Minister of Health, Republic of Liberia
Nigeria Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Federal Republic of Nigeria
Professor Catherine O. Egbe, Chief Specialist Scientist, South African Medical Research Council, Republic of South Africa
Professor Olalekan Ayo-Yusuf, School of Health Systems and Public Health University of Pretoria, Republic of South Africa
Region of the Americas
Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Federative Republic of Brazil
Mônica Andreis, Director - President, ACT Promoção da Saúde, Federative Republic of Brazil
Daniel Dorado, Director, Tobacco Control Campaign, Corporate Accountability, Republic of Colombia
Dr Inti Barrientos, Medical Sciences Researcher, National Institute of Public Health (INSP), United Mexican States
Dr Cristina Lustemberg, Minister of Public Health, Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Eastern Mediterranean Region
Shared award Islamic Republic of Iran:
- Dr Abdolhossein Khosropanah, Secretary of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution
- Dr Behzad Valizadeh, Former Head, National Tobacco Control Secretariat
Mr Ali M. Elrghabi, Founder, Quit and Run Marathon, State of Libya
Shared award Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
- Dr Waseem Iftikhar Janjua, Senior researcher, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
- Tobacco Control Cell, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination
Shared award Republic of Tunisia:
- Professor Hatem Bouzaiene, President, Tunisian Alliance Against Tobacco
- Professor Radhouane Fakhfakh, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisian Alliance Against Tobacco
- Dr Mounira Masmoudi Nabli (in memoriam), Vice President, Tunisian Alliance Against Tobacco
European Region
Comité National Contre le Tabagisme, Republic of France
Dr Svetlana Nicolaescu, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Health, Republic of Moldova
Professor Florin Dumitru Mihălțan, President, Romanian Society of Pneumology, Romania
Dr Mónica García Gómez, Minister of Health, Kingdom of Spain
Ms Susann Koalick, Head, Nicotine Dependence Treatment and Cessation Services Klinik Barmelweid, Swiss Confederation
Dr Allen Gallagher, Research fellow and Co-Director, Tobacco Control Research Group, University of Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
South-East Asia Region
Principal Health Secretary, Medical and Health Department, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Republic of India
ICMR – National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Republic of India
People's Health Foundation, Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Acting Sub-Lieutenant Trakul Thotham, Kingdom of Thailand
Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center, Kingdom of Thailand
Western Pacific Region
His Excellency Touch Chanthy, Permanent member of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council, Office of the Council of Ministers, Kingdom of Cambodia
Professor Chung-mau Lo, Secretary for Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
People's Government of Shenzhen Municipality, People's Republic of China
City Government of Baguio, Republic of the Philippines
Shared award Socialist Republic of Viet Nam:
- Department of Legislation, Ministry of Health
- Health Policy and Strategy Institute
- Poison Control Center Bach Mai Hospital
- Tobacco Control Fund
