CMA Awards Medal of Honour to Nigel Fisher

OTTAWA, Aug. 1, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) will present the 2013 CMA Medal of Honour to Canadian humanitarian Nigel Fisher from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, in recognition of his commitment to the well-being of children in countries affected by conflict or disaster.

"The CMA Medal of Honour recognizes personal contributions to the advancement of medical research and education," said CMA president Dr. Anna Reid. "Where others see despair, Mr. Fisher hears a call for action and a responsibility to help."

"I am surprised and delighted to be honored by the CMA," said Mr. Fisher. "I cannot have had a more rewarding career. Knowing that I and my team can make a difference to the survival and health of many children is an incredible motivator. Even the toughest warlords find it hard to argue against saving a child's life. There is nothing like sharing laughter with a child who you have helped bring back from the brink of death, sickness or trauma".

A student of political theory and government at the University of Wales, Mr. Fisher took a master's degree in political science at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. After teaching for a couple of years in Nigeria, he moved to Ottawa where he worked for Canadian University Service Overseas and International Development Research Centre. He joined the staff of UNICEF in 1977 and has spent most of his 35-year United Nations career in conflict- and crisis-affected countries focusing on the well-being of children.

Over his career, Mr. Fisher has lived and worked in more than a dozen countries in the world's most desperate corners, overseeing delivery of support to countless children, their families and communities. When Haiti was hit by a tragic earthquake on January 12, 2010, Mr. Fisher was called upon to lead the UN's post-disaster needs assessment team. In 2013 he became special representative of the secretary-general in Haiti. In 2005 he was appointed president and CEO of UNICEF Canada and advocated for national policy changes regarding international and domestic child rights, for improvements in aboriginal child health care and for Canadian overseas development investment in maternal and child health. In 2001 he was the special representative for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and was tasked with initiating and leading UNICEF operations for Afghan children during the bombing war. He was then appointed UN assistant secretary-general, assuming leadership of all United Nations relief, recovery and reconstruction activities in Afghanistan in 2002-03. He also headed the agency's response to the first Gulf War in the Middle East and was awarded Canada's Meritorious Service Cross for his work in Rwanda.

Mr. Fisher has also been inducted into the Order of Ontario (2010) and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has an honorary doctorate of laws degree from McMaster University and was named a Luminary of the Global Village in 2005. Just recently, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Nigel Fisher is the 30th recipient of the CMA Medal of Honour, the highest award bestowed by the association upon someone who is not a member of the medical profession. The medal will be presented at a ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Calgary Hotel on Aug. 21, during the CMA's 146th annual general meeting.

SOURCE: Canadian Medical Association

Dominique Jolicoeur, Communications Officer
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