Professor Miriam Were is the former chairperson of the Kenyan National Aids Control Council and a world-renowned public health icon whose efforts to bring basic medical services and health rights to women and children have been a beacon of hope for millions of Africans.
As chairperson of the Control Council, Prof. Were provided strong leadership and orchestrated a balanced HIV/AIDS response that has enabled Kenya to consistently register a reduction of HIV prevalence and AIDS-related mortality. Through strong advocacy support from her, Kenya’s national health budget has increased by three times between 2003 and 2007.
As chairperson of the International Board of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), Prof. Were has presided over the expansion of the work of AMREF such that the budget has increased by a multiple of four in AMREF’s work in Eastern and Southern Africa as well as in Southern Sudan and Somalia. With a strong continental training reach, AMREF has also expanded its program work to West Africa. Prof. Were is also the co-founder and Director of the UZIMA Foundation that focuses on youth empowerment. She has used her medical and development expertise and wisdom to encourage and promote positive behavior among young people.
Prof. Were has won numerous awards for outstanding contributions to the health sector, including the 2008 Hideyo Noguchi African Prize and in 2005, Kenya’s Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear for her distinguished service rendered to the nation as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Gold Medal for Public Health in the Commonwealth in 2007.
Miriam K. Were is the author of four novels and a biography.
