World No Tobacco Day 2026 awards – meet the winners

Each year, WHO honours individuals and organizations from each of the six WHO regions for their outstanding contributions to tobacco control. The recipients of the 2026 awards are:

WHO Director-General Special award:

His Excellency, Dr Shaya Mohsin Zindani, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Republic of Yemen

African Region

Dr Nare Narcisse Mathurin, Public Health Specialist, Ministry of Health, Burkina Faso

Dr Louise Mapleh Kpoto, Minister of Health, Republic of Liberia

Nigeria Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Federal Republic of Nigeria

Professor Catherine O. Egbe, Chief Specialist Scientist, South African Medical Research Council, Republic of South Africa

Professor Olalekan Ayo-Yusuf, School of Health Systems and Public Health University of Pretoria, Republic of South Africa

Region of the Americas

Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Federative Republic of Brazil

Mônica Andreis, Director - President, ACT Promoção da Saúde, Federative Republic of Brazil

Daniel Dorado, Director, Tobacco Control Campaign, Corporate Accountability, Republic of Colombia

Dr Inti Barrientos, Medical Sciences Researcher, National Institute of Public Health (INSP), United Mexican States

Dr Cristina Lustemberg, Minister of Public Health, Oriental Republic of Uruguay

Eastern Mediterranean Region

Shared award Islamic Republic of Iran:

• Dr Abdolhossein Khosropanah, Secretary of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution
• Dr Behzad Valizadeh, Former Head, National Tobacco Control Secretariat

Mr Ali M. Elrghabi, Founder, Quit and Run Marathon, State of Libya

Shared award Islamic Republic of Pakistan:

• Dr Waseem Iftikhar Janjua, Senior researcher, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
• Tobacco Control Cell, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination

Shared award Republic of Tunisia:

• Professor Hatem Bouzaiene, President, Tunisian Alliance Against Tobacco
• Professor Radhouane Fakhfakh, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisian Alliance Against Tobacco
• Dr Mounira Masmoudi Nabli (in memoriam), Vice President, Tunisian Alliance Against Tobacco

European Region

Comité National Contre le Tabagisme, Republic of France

Dr Svetlana Nicolaescu, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Health, Republic of Moldova

Professor Florin Dumitru Mihălțan, President, Romanian Society of Pneumology, Romania

Dr Mónica García Gómez, Minister of Health, Kingdom of Spain

Ms Susann Koalick, Head, Nicotine Dependence Treatment and Cessation Services Klinik Barmelweid, Swiss Confederation

Dr Allen Gallagher, Research fellow and Co-Director, Tobacco Control Research Group, University of Bath, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

South-East Asia Region

Principal Health Secretary, Medical and Health Department, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Republic of India

ICMR - National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Republic of India

People's Health Foundation, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Acting Sub-Lieutenant Trakul Thotham, Kingdom of Thailand

Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center, Kingdom of Thailand

Western Pacific Region

His Excellency Touch Chanthy, Permanent member of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council, Office of the Council of Ministers, Kingdom of Cambodia

Professor Chung-mau Lo, Secretary for Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China

People's Government of Shenzhen Municipality, People's Republic of China

City Government of Baguio, Republic of the Philippines

Shared award Socialist Republic of Viet Nam:

• Department of Legislation, Ministry of Health
• Health Policy and Strategy Institute
• Poison Control Center Bach Mai Hospital
• Tobacco Control Fund