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Nelson Mandela Award, 2024 for Health Promotion
Context:
The National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, an Institute of National Importance under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, has recently received the 2024 Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion:
- Establishment and Purpose:
- Initiation: Established in 2019 by the initiative of the Ministers of Health of Member States of the African Region.
- Purpose: Awarded to individuals, institutions, and/or governmental or nongovernmental organisations for significant contributions to health promotion, beyond normal duties.
- Recognition: In honour of Nelson Mandela’s humility, the award consists of a plaque.
- Presented by the President of the World Health Assembly during a special ceremony at the World Health Assembly plenary, alongside the WHO Director-General and typically a representative of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
- Eligibility:
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- Any national health administration of a WHO Member State or any former recipient of the award can nominate a candidate.
- Current and former WHO staff members and current Executive Board members are ineligible.
About NIMHANS:
- NIMHANS is a multidisciplinary institute for patient care, academic pursuit and research in the fields of mental health and neurosciences.
- It is an Institute of National Importance operating autonomously under India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
History:
- NIMHANS has its roots in the Bangalore Lunatic Asylum founded in 1847, which was renamed the Mental Hospital in 1925 by the Government of Mysore.
- In 1954, the Mental Hospital was amalgamated with the All India Institute of Mental Health to form the autonomous NIMHANS.
- NIMHANS was granted deemed university status in 1994 and declared an Institute of National Importance by Parliament in 2012.
Organization and Departments:
- NIMHANS adopts a multidisciplinary, integrated approach with a priority gradient of service, manpower development and research.
- It has 25 departments spanning psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery, clinical psychology, psychiatric social work, nursing, basic sciences, epidemiology, rehabilitation and more.
- The institute also has numerous central facilities like advanced centres for public health, addiction medicine, molecular imaging, brain mapping, yoga, and a WHO collaborating center.
Academics and Training:
- NIMHANS offers post-graduate degrees, super-speciality courses, Ph.D. programs, post-doctoral fellowships, certificate courses and nursing programs.
- As a deemed university, it has academic autonomy in designing training programs to develop skilled manpower in mental health and neurosciences.
Mission and Vision:
- NIMHANS aims to be a world leader in mental health and neurosciences, evolving state-of-the-art approaches to patient care through translational research.
- Its mission is to establish highest standards of evidence-based care, train future leaders in the field, foster innovative research, and develop effective models of service delivery.
