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Honorary Doctorate Granted to Dr. Miriam Were

2011年2月21日更新

On February 21, 2011, Ochanomizu University granted an honorary doctorate to Dr. Miriam Were. We celebrated the occasion with a seminar on the same day.

Since 2002, when Ochanomizu University launched support for girls’ education as part of our assistance program for Afghanistan’s recovery, we have expanded the scope of our activities to other parts of Asia and to Africa and promoted peace-building efforts focused on women and children. The honorary doctorate is a tribute to Dr. Were’s lifework of social contribution, and an expression of the university’s admiration for her endeavors, which we hope to make a model for our own activities.

Dr. Were has worked for many years in the public health field and for youth in Kenya and throughout Africa. For her tremendous achievements in these fields, in 2008 she received the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize, the highest honor granted by the Japanese government for outstanding achievements in the medical field in Africa.

After obtaining a doctorate in the United States, Dr. Were made substantial contributions to medical education in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa as a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences and as head of the Department of Community Health at the University of Nairobi. The African Medical and Research Foundation, for which she serves as chairperson, operate a flying doctor system that provides emergency transportation for the sick in remote areas. As chairperson of the UZIMA Foundation, Dr. Were has encouraged youths to prevent and rehabilitate themselve from narcotic drug dependency, and contributed to the reduction of narcotic use rates in the Kibera slums of Nairobi. Her work in a responsible position fighting HIV/AIDS has also earned high recognition.

The awarding ceremony was followed by a celebratory seminar titled “Living Together—Dr. Were’s Perspective” held as part of the Global Collaboration Center’s program Developing Networks for Peace-Building in a Global Society. Dr. Were said that essential to realizing peace in conflict-ridden Africa is communities and citizens working together to develop a global network that includes Japan. Students asked many questions, such as about the role of women and the importance of community activities, and participated in a lively discussion.

The seminar concluded with Dr. Were and all participants standing and singing a Kenyan song, clapping to the beat. The event left everyone feeling a bond of friendship between Africa and Japan, and that we had taken the first step toward a society where people may truly live together.

Ochanomizu University hopes to make the granting of this honorary degree to Dr. Were serve as a solid foundation for expanding our international activities.