Nomination period closed for Al-Sumait Food Security Prize, shortlist chosen from 49 applicants

Kuwait City, July 26, 2016 – The Nomination & Search Committee of the Kuwait-sponsored Al-Sumait Food Security Prize has prepared a shortlist of potential winners from the total 49 nominations for the award that closed for entries on June 30, 2016. The applications and supporting documents of the shortlisted candidates for both the Al-Sumait Prize for Food Security and the earlier Al-Sumait Prize for Health Development have been sent to two separate evaluation panels each composed of three eminent international experts in the respective fields. The reports submitted by the members of the evaluation panels will be studied further by two Selection Panels, which will convene in Kuwait City September 19 -22. The Selection Panels will recommend the winners of the prize to the Board of Trustees of the Prize, which is planned to convene during October 2016. The laureates of both cycles of the Prize will be announced by the Board of Trustees.

The annual Al-Sumait Food Security and Health Prizes, each worth one million dollars, are awarded for significant advances in the areas of food security and health across Africa. The prizes are open to individuals and institutions worldwide who have made significant research or development advances that can promote health and food security in Africa.

“The shortlists for both prizes represent an unprecedented level of effort and commitment to promoting health and food security in Africa that cuts to the very heart of efforts to help Africa deliver on its full potential,” said Dr. Mustafa Marafi, Acting Head of the Office of Prizes at KFAS..

Announced by the Amir of the State of Kuwait, H.H. Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in November 2013 at the 3rd Arab African Summit, the aim of Al-Sumait Health Prize is to contribute significantly to solve major development challenges facing African nations. The prize celebrates the life of the late Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait, a Kuwaiti physician who devoted his life towards helping the poor in Africa.

The Al-Sumait Health Development Prize and the Al-Sumait Food Security Prize will be awarded during The Grand Reception at the Fourth Arab African Summit in Equatorial Guinea on November 22, 2016.

For more information please visit www.alsumaitprize.org or please contact Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS)

P. (+965) 22270465

E. info@alsumaitprize.org