Anita Abada, a Nigerian Filmmaker and Editor, has emerged winner of second World Health Organisation (WHO) Health for All Film Festival award in the health educational film category.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, made the announcement in his speech posted on the UN health Agency website.
Ghebreyesus said that Abada became a winner of the special prize for a health educational film for youth, titled “Efun”.
The director-general said “Efun”, directed by Abada focused on the challenging topic of Female Genital Mutilation.
Ghebreyesus, who congratulated Abada, said the winners would receive trophies and a grant of 10,000 dollars to invest in further audiovisual production on health today.
“For each of the three main categories there was a grand prix winner as well as a special mention from the jury,” he said.
Also, he said Chipatala cha pa Foni emerged winner of the universal health coverage category and the work shone light on the phone-based health service Chipatala cha pa Foni in Malawi.
It was submitted and directed by Village Reach, an NGO in Malawi, and produced by Hope Ngwira, Kat Tillman and Lindi van Niekirk.
The winner of the grand prix in the category of universal health coverage was the animated film “Phosphôros”.
Phosphôros” is a beautiful tribute to the health workers in El Salvador saving lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and it was directed by Susana Beatriz Serrano, also from El Salvador.
The director-general, therefore, thanked everyone who participated in the 2021 Health for All Film Festival.
He also appreciated the 1,200 filmmakers, who shared their work with WHO, the jury members, who gave their time and expertise, and the workforce across the world that made it all possible.
“We launched the festival in 2020 as the world was facing the shared threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The lesson has been strong and clear: the only way to take on shared threats is to work together, in solidarity.
“The WHO Health for All Film Festival was founded on the idea that solidarity begins with shared experience.
“The individuals and communities who are sharing their stories in this festival are shining a powerful light on the different ways that people around the world experience health and health care,’’ he said.
According to him, each film exposes its audience to new situations and different realities and they are building blocks for mutual understanding, respect, and empathy.
In an extraordinary demonstration of creative energy and enthusiasm, he said the second edition of the film festival attracted nearly 1,200 short film submissions from 110.
“The films are as diverse in topic as they are in style, ranging from documentaries to fictional stories to animations; perhaps unsurprisingly, 40 per cent of entries this year related to stories about the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The 56 shortlisted films have been sorted into categories that reflect WHO’s major areas of work: universal health coverage, health emergencies and better health and wellbeing.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank WHO staff for the commitment and solidarity.
“I want to appreciate them for the commitment shown in bringing this film festival to life, spreading the word at the country and regional levels, and helping with the initial sift of entries,’’ the director-general said.
