At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, made up of María Jesús Álvarez González, Enrique Barón, José María Bergareche, Alicia Castro Masaveu, Milagros del Corral, Consuelo Crespo, Manuel Díaz Ron, Ángeles Espinosa, Jorge de Esteban, Luis Fernández, María Jesús Figa López-Palop, Severino García Vigón, Isabel Gómez-Acebo, Laura González, María José Hidalgo, Luis Lada Díaz, Gloria Lomana, Ricardo Martí Fluxá, José María Martín Patino, María Dolores Masana, Cándido Méndez, Luis Javier Navarro Vigil, Yago Pico de Coaña, Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Mariano Puig, Luis Ruiz de Gopegui Miguel, Luis Sánchez-Merlo, Nicolás Sartorius, Gustavo Suárez Pertierra, chaired by Antonio Garrigues Walker with Teodoro López-Cuesta as secretary, has decided to bestow the 2008 Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation on the organisations leading the fight in Africa against malaria, a disease which threatens 40% of the world´s population, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where one child under five years of age dies every thirty seconds.

The Jury has prized the merits and work carried out by four research centres in the struggle to put an end to the relation between disease and poverty:

-The Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça, in Mozambique, directed by Drs. Pedro Alonso and Clara Menéndez.
-The Ifakara Health Institute, in Tanzania, directed by Dr. Hassan Mshinda.
-The Malaria Research and Training Center, in Mali, directed by Dr. Ogobara Doumbo.
-The Kintampo Health Research Centre, in Ghana, directed by Dr. Seth Owusu-agyei.

The Jury has also taken in consideration the role played by these four centres in encouraging research, achieving an effective vaccine and contributing to improvements in medical care in the countries in which they operate. The work of these organisations in the training of local staff for biomedical research and institutional backing in the fight against malaria has likewise been especially valued by the Jury.


Oviedo, 28th May 2008