We are delighted to share that hera partner Wilbert Bannenberg was awarded the Dutch Royal title of “Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau” for his long-standing work on access to medicines.
Wilbert is a public health physician who joined hera in 2002 bringing with him a wealth of pharmaceutical systems expertise from the WHO, the South African Drug Action Programme and over two decades of experience as an international consultant. He is a longstanding champion of the human right to health and his leadership and advocacy work with civil society on access to medicines is ongoing and extensive.
In 1979 Wilbert and a group of Dutch medical students formed WEMOS, a rights-based advocacy group in the Netherlands that focuses on access to health in low- and middle-income countries. Wilbert also founded the E-drug network, a forum he moderates with over 4000 healthcare professionals, researchers and policy makers. He sat on many boards including Health Action International and IDA Foundation, and is currently the chairperson of the Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation. All organisations are actively advocating and striving for equitable access to essential medicines.
Wilbert's work with hera has involved over 100 consultancies developing National Medicines Policies and providing implementation support, access to essential medicines, regulatory systems support, drug legislation, intellectual property rights issues and medicines, drug financing, quantification of essential drugs' needs, selection of essential drugs and formulary development, rational use of drugs, TB, malaria and HIV/AIDS programmes, and operational research. His most recent work has focused on teaching, capacity building, networking, NGO support and medicines-related advocacy campaigns. Wilbert is currently the Pharma team lead for hera’s COVID-19 DFID HEART consortium response.
We wish him all the best for his well-deserved royal award.
