Recognised for his outstanding contributions to public health and cardiology
Prof K Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), was conferred the degree of Doctor of Science (Medicine) Honoris Causa by the University of London on November 26, 2014. This was awarded to him by The Princess Royale of Britain, Princess Anne, who is also Chancellor of the University, at a special ceremony held at the Buckingham Palace. Professor Reddy received this honour for his outstanding contributions to public health and cardiology.
The oration was read out by Baro Peter Piot, renowned microbiologist, AIDS researcher and discoverer of the Ebola virus and Director & Professor of Global Health, The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
A recipient of Padma Bhushan, by the President of India (2005), Professor Reddy has headed the PHFI since its inception in 2006. Under his leadership, PHFI has established five Indian Institutes of Public Health (IIPHs) in different regions of India and is working to transform public health through education research, policy support, public communication and development of affordable technologies for primary health services.
Professor Reddy was previously Head of Cardiology Department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He also presently serves as President of the World Heart Federation (WHF) which is the umbrella organisation for all national and continental cardiac societies and heart foundations across the world. He is the first Indian to have been elected as President of WHF.
Accepting the award of the Degree of Doctor of Science (Medicine) Honoris Causa at the 2014 Foundation Ceremony of the University of London, he said, “I am grateful for this recognition of my lifelong commitment to improving the health of the people of India and my contributions to global health. I believe it is a tribute to India’s resolute pursuit of good health and wellbeing for all of its people and its steadfast solidarity with other nations who seek the same for their people. In an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, global health is the best unifying platform. The PHFI, which I am proud to lead, represents these values. My work reflects the contributions of the collective PHFI family.”
Apart from leading research that has tracked the trends of heart diseases in India and other developing countries over the last three decades, Prof Reddy has also created large scale worksite and school based programmes for prevention of heart disease and diabetes. Their impactful results have been published in prestigious journals and acclaimed internationally as ‘best practices’ for replication.
He has been acclaimed as a global leader in tobacco control and played a prominent role in the development of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) while representing India in the international treaty negotiations during 2000-2003.
The five IIPHs, established by PHFI, under his leadership, is scaling up public health capacity for strengthening health systems across the country.