Virchow Prize Lecture 2025

The Virchow Foundation and ESMT Berlin are delighted to host the distinguished Virchow Prize Lectures in honor of the 2025 Laureates, and .

This year’s Laureates are recognized “for their pioneering, lifelong leadership in advancing maternal, newborn, and child health equity through community-centred, evidence-based research.”

The lecture will highlight the urgent need to advance equity in women’s, maternal, newborn, and child health. It will emphasize holistic, systems-based approaches that recognize the links between gender, health, and development, underscoring that health advances must be just, inclusive, and co-created with the communities they serve.

The discussion will explore integrated strategies to address global health challenges and promote equity, contributing to the achievement of:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

11:00

Welcome and introduction of the Virchow Prize Laureates 2025

• Prof. Jörg Rocholl, PhD, President of ESMT and Deutsche Bank Professor in Sustainable Finance, ESMT Berlin; Council Member, Virchow Foundation
• Prof. Detlev Ganten, Co-Founder and Member of the Board of Trustees, Virchow Foundation; Founding President, World Health Summit
• Prof. Dr. Ole Petter Ottersen, Vice President, Virchow Foundation; Former President, Karolinska Institutet

11:10

Lectures of the Virchow Prize Laureates 2025

• Prof. Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Associate Scientific Director, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA); Professor of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA
• Prof. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Distinguished University Professor and Founding Director, Institute for Global Health & Development, Aga Khan University (South-Central Asia & East Africa); Robert Harding Inaugural Chair in Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, Canada

11:50

Panel discussion

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Maike Sander, Director, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

Panelists:

• Prof. Quarraisha Abdool Karim, CAPRISA / Columbia University
• Prof. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Aga Khan University / SickKids
• Dr. Rana Hajjeh, Former President, Population Council, New York, USA
• Dr. Mariam Jashi, Secretary-General, Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA); Ex Officio CEO, Global Sepsis Alliance, Berlin, Germany

12:20Public Q&A

Prof. Quarraisha Abdool Karim is a renowned epidemiologist and global health leader whose work has significantly advanced HIV prevention and women’s health. She is professor of clinical epidemiology at Columbia University and associate scientific director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA). As UNAIDS special ambassador for adolescents and HIV, she champions evidence-based, community-driven approaches to health equity. Her research has shaped global responses to HIV/AIDS and continues to influence public health strategies for vulnerable populations.

Prof. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta is a globally recognized expert in maternal, newborn, and child health. He holds the Robert Harding Chair in Global Child Health at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto and is the founding director of the Institute for Global Health and Development at Aga Khan University. His pioneering work focuses on evidence-based interventions to improve health and nutrition outcomes in underserved populations. Prof. Bhutta serves on numerous global health advisory boards and is a leading voice in shaping policy for child and adolescent health worldwide.

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