Prestigious award for the late Professor James Hakim

Colleagues and friends of the late Zimbabwean scientist Professor James Hakim have described an international award established in his name as a well-deserved honour and a fitting initiative for the decorated academic.

Last week, Ann Puderbaugh, the communications director for Fogarty International Center (FIC) announced that the James G Hakim award was established to honour Hakim, who died of COVID-19 complications in January 2021.

The award will be supported by the African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth), the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), and the FIC at the United States National Institutes of Health.

Christopher Samkange, a director at the University of Zimbabwe’s College of Health Sciences and a long-time colleague of Hakim, said the award was merited.

“It is pity that they didn’t give it to him during his lifetime because he really deserved it but, in a way, the death which has robbed us of him also gave the impetus for him to be awarded,” he told University World News.

Samkange said Hakim was worthy of the honour because of his characteristics as a great physician, a great academic and a great researcher and innovator, whose interest was to advance the cause of medical science. This he managed to achieve before his untimely death.

Samkange said Hakim was good at mentoring people, encouraging people to do research, and ensuring that those who wanted to do research were supported through research or development grants.

Adrian Nyaguse, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Senior Hospital Doctors Association said: “It is a fitting tribute to a great teacher (many a student went through his hands), who made an immense contribution to medical education for the past few decades.”

An eminent medical scientist

Rouzeh Eghtessadi, the executive director of the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service, welcomed the initiative, saying that Hakim’s legacy is being preserved by it in a fitting way.

Hakim was an acclaimed researcher and professor and an eminent leader in advancing medical research and education in Africa.

He was chair of the department of medicine at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare; a founding member of AFREhealth; a member and esteemed partner to CUGH; and a longstanding, prominent grantee of the FIC.

Puderbaugh said the inaugural award will be given in 2022. Each year, the James G Hakim award will provide an African health trainee or early-career health professional with funding to cover registration and travel to the annual CUGH meeting, where he or she will be recognised for achievements.

Applicants will compete for the award by submitting abstracts to the CUGH scientific committee.

To qualify, an applicant must be a citizen of an African country with primary professional affiliation with an Africa-based institution.

Applicants must also be enrolled in a degree-granting educational programme from an accredited African university or must have received a terminal degree no more than five years prior to applying.