The President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, HE Obiang Nguema Mbasogo presented the Al-Sumait Prize for scientific achievement in the fields of food security and health on the African continent.
The Prize, named after the late Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, a Kuwaiti medical doctor, was awarded during the IV Africa-Arab World Summit in Malabo at the Sipopo Conference Center.
Professor Kevin Marsh of the University of Oxford and African Academy of Sciences in Kenya won the health category and the Sweetpotato for Nutrition Team at the International Potato Centre in Peru and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria jointly won the food security category. The education prize will be awarded in the coming months.
The Prize of $1,000,000 USD is awarded annually to support the administrative, logistic, and financial burden of the winning individual or organization project.
Specific focus areas this year included the development of new varieties of seeds, crops, or livestock to improve food security, the improvement of farmers’ access to agricultural techniques and markets, and the development of farmers’ resilience to climate change, among others.
Kuwait established the initiative at the III Africa-Arab Summit in Kuwait in November 2013.
Heads of state and dignitaries met 23 November at the Sipopo Conference Center in Malabo for the high-level meetings of the IV Africa-Arab World Summit.