We are proud to announce that Dr. Peter Orris, Senior Adviser to HCWH, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Global Health by the
World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) during the
15th World Congress on Public Health that took place in Melbourne, Australia, from April 3-7, 2017. This award was given in recognition of Dr. Orris’ work in the context of the WFPHA’s
Environmental Health Working Group and in campaigns to improve environmental health.
Dr. Orris, MD, MPH, is a Professor and Chief of Service at the Occupational Health Service Institute within the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. The strategic work of Dr. Orris with the WFPHA, the World Medical Association, the World Health Organization and other organizations has been critical to the worldwide environmental health movement.
Dr. Orris has also been a major force for linking the practice of medicine with human rights, equality, occupational safety and environmental sustainability. He was one of HCWH’s founders in 1996 and has advised communities all over the world on the dangers of incineration and other toxic chemical exposures. As one of the leaders in Health Care Without Harm, Dr. Orris attended every negotiating session of the Minamata Treaty on Mercury. He was the critical clinical voice in the negotiations to inform governments about the dangers of mercury, the availability of safer measuring devices, and the momentum of the healthcare sector in eliminating mercury from their facilities. As a result of his advocacy with HCWH staff and allies around the world, the Minamata Treaty contains a provision for the global phase out of mercury based measuring devices by the year 2020.
Read Dr. Orris’ acceptance speech at the 15th World Congress on Public Health.
