Physicians for Peace to Honor ONE with its Charles E. Horton Humanitarian Award

NORFOLK, VA (08/19/2009)(readMedia)-- Physicians for Peace, an international organization focusing on medical education in developing nations, today announced it will award its third annual Charles E. Horton Humanitarian Award for Global Health to the advocacy organization, ONE. The award will be presented during Physicians for Peace's Celebrate the Nations Gala Reception on October 3rd in Virginia Beach, Va.

ONE is a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Co-founded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE works closely with policy experts, African leaders and anti-poverty activists to raise awareness and mobilize public opinion in support of tested and proven methods for tackling poverty and disease. Among its many accomplishments, ONE successfully encouraged the G8 to direct an additional $25 billion in effective assistance to Africa by 2010.

"ONE is deeply honored to receive the Charles E. Horton Humanitarian Award for Global Health, an award whose namesake continues to inspire action and hope in the fight against global poverty and disease," said Sheila Nix, ONE's U.S. Executive Director. "Today, effective advocacy is more important than ever in supporting results-driven efforts that fight poverty, combat preventable disease, put children in school and create economic opportunity for the world's poor. As exemplified by organizations like Physicians for Peace, huge advances against disease and poverty are being made every day thanks to smart programs and strong local leadership in developing countries. We are humbled to join the ranks of former award recipients Senator Bill Frist and Professor Jeffrey Sachs, and we thank Physicians for Peace for this honor."

The Charles E. Horton Humanitarian Award for Global Health is bestowed in honor of the late Physicians for Peace founder, Charles E. Horton, M.D Horton, an internationally recognized humanitarian, founded Physicians for Peace in 1989. He passed away in late 2006. Through Horton's leadership, the organization has touched the lives of thousands of patients and doctors in more than 50 countries around the world.

"Dr. Horton was an articulate advocate for the vulnerable populations of the world," noted Physicians for Peace President and CEO, Ron Sconyers, Brigadier General (USAF Ret.). "He used his voice to rally the medical community to take their healing and teaching skills where they were needed the most. ONE has been able to use its voice to help bring balance and stability to a world that has neither. We are extremely honored to recognize ONE for its many accomplishments in offering hope to those who need it most - the poor and the vulnerable."

The award was given last year to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. Frist, who devoted 20 years to practicing medicine as a cardiothoracic transplant surgeon before entering public service, represented the state of Tennessee in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007, serving as Senate Majority Leader during the final four years of his tenure. Since retiring from the Senate, Frist has been active in issues of global health and development, including with ONE. Frist co-chaired ONE's 2008 presidential campaign outreach effort, ONE Vote '08.

The 2007 Horton Award was given to Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Sachs is also President and Co-Founder of Millennium Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization aimed at ending extreme global poverty. In 2004 and 2005 he was named among the 100 most influential leaders in the world by TIME magazine.

About Physicians for Peace: Physicians for Peace is an international private voluntary organization that mobilizes healthcare educators to assist developing nations with unmet medical needs and scarce resources. Through effective, hands-on medical education and training, clinical care and donated medical supplies, Physicians for Peace creates long-term, sustainable, replicable, and evidence-based projects to help partner nations build medical capability and capacity to help themselves. Volunteers for the 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization have conducted medical missions in more than 50 countries. More information, go to: http://www.physiciansforpeace.org

For more about ONE, visit: http://www.ONE.org

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