World Health Organization (WHO) announces winners of World No Tobacco Day 2026 awards

Key facts

• The World Health Organization (WHO) confers annual awards to individuals and organisations across six regions for outstanding contributions to tobacco control.
• The WHO Director-General Special award was granted to Dr Shaya Mohsin Zindani, Prime Minister of the Republic of Yemen.
• Indian awardees in the South-East Asia Region include the Principal Health Secretary of the Medical and Health Department in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research.
• Other South-East Asia Region winners are the People’s Health Foundation of Myanmar, Acting Sub-Lieutenant Trakul Thotham of Thailand, and the Tobacco Control Research and Knowledge Management Center of Thailand.
• The awards recognise contributors from the African Region, Region of the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean Region, European Region, and Western Pacific Region.