The World Health Organization (WHO) has honored exceptional individuals and organizations across its six regions for their outstanding contributions to tobacco control through the prestigious World No Tobacco Day Awards. The recipients for 2024 are as follows:

From the African Region, Mr. Yankuba Darboe, Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority in the Republic of the Gambia, Ms. Gormwa Gotus, a Kaduna State Educator with the Tobacco Abstinence Club in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Tobacco Abstinence Club in the Federal Republic of Nigeria have been recognized.

In the Region of the Americas, Dr. Vera da Costa e Silva, Head of the National Commission for the Implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in the Federative Republic of Brazil, Dr. Alberto José de Araújo (in memoriam) from the Federative Republic of Brazil, Dr. Antônio Pedro Mirra (in memoriam) from the Federative Republic of Brazil, Gustavo Sóñora, Regional Director of Tobacco Control for Latin America with Vital Strategies in the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, Ms. Carolina Giraldo Botero, Congresswoman from the Republic of Colombia, Corporación Colombiana de Padres y Madres - Red PaPaz from the Republic of Colombia, and Ms. Gianella Severini, Senior Legal Coordinator for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in the Argentine Republic have been honored.

From the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Mr. Husain Ali Alrayes, Health Inspection Supervisor with the Ministry of Health in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Dr. Wagdy Amin from the National Tobacco Control Observatory in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Directorate General of Standards and Metrology with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment in the Sultanate of Oman, Madinah Health Cluster in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Mr. Moncef Boukthir, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Republic of Tunisia have been awarded.

In the European Region, Professor Charlotta Pisinger from the University of Southern Denmark in the Kingdom of Denmark, Ms. Mervi Hara, Executive Director of ASH Finland in the Republic of Finland, Dr. Francisco Rodríguez Lozano, Chair of the Board of the Cancer Patients Europe Association in the Kingdom of Spain, Ms. Helen Stjerna, Secretary General of A Non Smoking Generation (NGO) in the Kingdom of Sweden, NGO A Non Smoking Generation in the Kingdom of Sweden, the Ministry of Health in Ukraine, the Lviv Oblast Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health in Ukraine, and Dr. Raouf Alebshehy from the Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been recognized.

From the South-East Asia Region, the Ministry of Railways in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Odisha State Tobacco Control Cell in the Republic of India, Dr. Widyastuti Soerojo from the Health Policy Forum in the Republic of Indonesia, the Thailand Youth Institute in the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka have been honored.

In the Western Pacific Region, the Hangzhou Municipal People’s Government in the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Jose Enrique S. Garcia III, Provincial Governor of Bataan in the Republic of the Philippines, and the HealthBridge Foundation of Canada, HealthBridge Viet Nam in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam have been recognized.

These awards recognize the significant efforts and achievements in tobacco control, contributing to better public health outcomes globally.