Dubai - The Best Minister Award recognises the exceptional efforts of government ministers at demonstrating excellence in the public sector.
Published: Sun 10 Feb 2019, 5:39 PM
Last updated: Mon 11 Feb 2019, 12:57 AM
Just four years after being nominated as the Minister of Public Health in Afghanistan after securing the highest number of votes of confidence by ministers from the Afghan Parliament, Dr Ferozuddin Feroz has yet again shown his worth.
Beating stiff competition from seven other nominees on Sunday, Dr Feroz humbly accepted the Best Minister Award from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai on the opening day of the World Government Summit (WGS) 2019.
"This is not just credit for me, I have not achieved this on my own. My team, in collaboration with partners, the community, and households across Afghanistan are all a part of this prestigious award. I never dreamt that I would receive such an honour and I accept it with profound gratitude on behalf of every single child and adult in Afghanistan. They are very brave and they are facing uncertainty on a daily basis," he told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the summit.
The Best Minister Award recognises the exceptional efforts of government ministers at demonstrating excellence in the public sector, designing and implementing successful, scalable and sustainable initiatives for socio-economic betterment of their citizens.
Asked what he thinks lead to him being crowned the winner on Sunday (following a shortlisting from 20 global candidates), Dr Feroz said there were contributing factors.
"There were eight criteria for the award, which included the contribution towards the wellbeing of the population, reduction of mortality, morbidity, and fighting against disease; which for us is the polio virus. We want to stop the circulation of the polio virus all together. Additionally, one of the issues we have is limited resources and availability of resources, but still, we have been able to see real change for the betterment of our people in Afghanistan," he said.
The eight dimensions against which the nominations and assessments are based included: social impact, economic impact, outreach, foresight, innovation, leadership, scalability, and sustainability.
For Dr Feroz's part, his time in office with the Department of Public Health has brought about big changes in just a few years.
He has made huge strides in decreasing maternal mortality rates as well as reducing the mortality rate for under five-years-olds by 44-per cent.
Additionally, he has increased the immunisation numbers in protecting children against polio.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com
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