Jamaican Doctor Recognized as Health Leader by World Health Organization

(Caribbean360)– Jamaican doctor and professor, Peter Figueroa, has been recognized at the World Health Assembly as a health leader for his substantial contribution to public health in Jamaica, the Caribbean, the Americas and the world, over the past four decades.

Dr Figueroa, a Professor of Public Health, Epidemiology and HIV-AIDS at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, received a plaque from the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday.

“This recognition means a lot to me. It is a true honour. I’ve been working in public health for 40 years and believe that I am an example, like many other health workers, of someone who commits their life to trying to help others,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed working in public health and it is an honor for me to make a contribution.”

After gaining his medical degree, Dr Figueroa worked in Public Health in Jamaica during the 1970s, contributing to the movement that developed Primary Health Care in Jamaica including the introduction of community health aides, in advance of the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration. He was awarded a PhD in 1996 by the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London and has since written or co-authored more than 150 published papers and co-edited three books on a range of public health topics.

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