PEPFAR 2022 Annual Meeting Award Winners

July 28, 2022, PEPFAR held its 2022 Annual Meeting in Montreal before the start of the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022). The PEPFAR Annual Meeting brought together U.S. government PEPFAR implementing agencies, PEPFAR country teams, government officials, multilateral and civil society organizations, and community leaders to discuss advancing the global HIV response.

During this meeting, PEPFAR held its Annual Awards Ceremony to recognize and honor the outstanding service of individuals and country teams. The individual awards and recipients are listed below.

Lahya Shiimi Award

This award recognizes exceptional FSN (Foreign Service National) contribution to PEPFAR in memory of Ms. Lahya Shiimi and her remarkable contributions made through her commitment, technical expertise, collegiality and service, cross-cultural communication, and true and effective partnership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Namibia.

Recipients of this award are individual Foreign Service National staff.

Recipients:

State/Eswatini – Khontile Kunene
CDC/Tanzania – Dr. Eunice Mmari
USAID/Uganda – Esther Karamagi Nkolo
USAID/Ukraine – Nataliya Podolchak

Joe Haydon Award

This award recognizes a PEPFAR staff member for exceptional teamwork and commitment to mission, initiative, interagency teambuilding through positive attitude and action, and providing leadership while building up others, in memory of Major Joe Haydon, who died in service to DOD, which launched PEPFAR Nigeria.

Recipients of this award are individual PEPFAR field staff.

Recipients:

CDC/Cote D’Ivoire – Shirish Balachandra
State/Malawi – Funmi Adesanya
USAID/Mozambique – Seth Greenberg
DOD/Kenya – Dorothy Njeru

Civil Society Partnership Award

This award is given to a civil society/community organization that accepted the invitation to make a difference and stood side by side with the host country government and PEPFAR to bring more impact to People Living with HIV in their fight against the dual pandemics faced.

Recipients of this award are civil society and community organizations.

Recipients:

Rwanda Network of People Living with HIV (RRP+)
Uganda Community Led Monitoring Consortium (ICWEA, SMUG, HEPS-Ug, UKPC
NEPWHAN for the Network of People Living with HIV in Nigeria
South Africa Ritshidze (TAC, NAPWA, Positive Action Campaign, Positive Women’s Network, and SANARELA+)

GBV Prevention Award

This award is in memory of colleagues who have lost their lives to gender-based violence (GBV) or maybe silently enduring the tragedy of GBV. The award recognizes a team or person doing critical, life-saving work to respond to and end GBV, especially for those who remain disproportionately impacted by violence.

Recipients of this award are PEPFAR individuals and teams.

Recipients:

USAID/Rwanda – Esron Niyonsaba
USAID/Mozambique – Paula Paindane
CDC/Rwanda – Emah Ndengo

Equity in PEPFAR Award

This award recognizes an individual or team who has been instrumental in elevating the issue of equity for our community, creating meaningful dialogue, exchange and structural change for both those being served and those who serve.

Recipients of this award are PEPFAR individuals and teams.

Recipients:

USAID/Central America – Giovanni Melendez
USAID/Zambia Ngaitila Phiri and CDC/Zambia Annie Mwila
State/Malawi – Uchechi Roxo
DOD HQ team of Vienna Nightingale, Melissa Kiernan, Laura Nyarko-Ampem, and Beverly Gomes-Lovell

Best Advancement in Growing Indigenous Partners Award

This award recognizes a PEPFAR country team for their exceptional results in cultivating the potential of local and indigenous partners to program resources from PEPFAR and others.