Olle Hansson Award
Olle Hansson and the Olle Hansson Award Winners
Olle Hansson and ‘Inside Ciba Geigy’
Olle Hansson was an icon of the activist medical profession and wrote a classic in medical investigative exposure. The book was called ‘INSIDE CIBA GEIGY’ and published in Penang, Malaysia in 1989. It is an amazing piece and we like to share the foreword written by Anwar Fazal, former President of International Organisation of Consumers Union (IOCU), co-founder of Health Action International (HAI) and the instigator for the idea of a People Health Assembly. ‘Olle was a very special inspiration to us. His courage, his competence, his commitment were rare in a profession that is more often too comfortable or too implicated to speak out against a powerful industry.’ His passing on 23 May 1985 was mourned not by words but by a series of actions that will continue to inspire those working to see a more responsible pharmaceutical industry worldwide May 23 has been designated as Olle Hansson Day and is celebrated as a day of action in India and several other countries. An Olle Hansson Award is made each year to a person from a developing country whose action for rational drug policies demonstrate the fine qualities of Olle.
Olle Hansson Award Winners
The Award recognises the work of an individual from a developing country who best demonstrates the qualities of Olle Hansson in promoting the rational use of drugs.
The Award is named in honour of Dr Olle Hansson, a Swedish paediatric neurologist internationally known for his advocacy for SMON (Subacute myelo-optic neuropathy) victims who were paralysed or blinded after using clioquinol, an antidiarrhoeal drug. Olle Hansson was a powerful campaigner against unethical promotion and marketing of drugs. In many ways, he represented the conscience of the medical profession.
His influence was felt not only in Sweden and Japan, which have thousands of SMON victims, but also in Europe and developing countries. Olle Hansson will be remembered by all who campaign for the rational use of drugs.
Although he died of cancer on May 23, 1985, at the age of 49, he remains a continuing source of inspiration for public interest workers everywhere. May 23 is commemorated each year as ‘Olle Hansson Day’.
The Award was first given in 1987. Recipients: Dr Mira Shiva of India, Dr Alfredo Bengzon of the Philippines, and Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak of USM, Malaysia, Dr Syed Rizwanuddin Ahmad of Pakistan, Dr Oscar Lanza of Bolivia, Dr K Balasubramaniam of Sri Lanka, and Dr Eva Ombaka of Tanzania and in 2008 Professor A.F. Biola Mabadeje of Nigeria. The award was not given after 2008 until 2021 when it was revived as part of the HAIAP 40 years Anniversary celebrations.
Details of all Award Winners can be seen here
Annamalai University Department of Pharmacy – Medicines Information Newsletter