Friends of the UN network awards Professor Per Ashorn an honorary membership
The 2024 Friend of the UN is Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen, and the honorary membership of the Friends of the UN network was awarded to Per Ashorn, Professor of Paediatrics at Tampere University.
The UN Association of Finland and the Friends of the UN thank Ashorn for his significant work as a researcher and provider of global health expertise for the World Health Organization (WHO), especially as regards promoting the health of newborns and children. In his research, Ashorn has focused on reducing child mortality and promoting the health of children in low-income countries, such as India and many sub-Saharan countries in Africa.
“In my work, I clearly see the significance and value of WHO’s and UN’s activities. Even though the UN’s actions are sometimes criticised, it has enormous potential to solve the big questions facing humanity,” Ashorn says.
Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2015, Ashorn’s work is strongly linked to eradicating hunger, promoting health and well-being, gender equality, and ensuring access to clean water and sanitation. He has also contributed to climate change prevention and the promotion of peace and good governance.
In 2016-2018 Ashorn worked at the World Health Organization (WHO) and he currently holds an expert position at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. He has also supervised dozens of doctoral dissertations and authored some 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers.
The honorary membership was awarded for the second time. The Friend of the UN and honorary member nominations were announced at the UN Day celebration at the Oodi Central Library in Helsinki on 24 October.
The mission of the Friends of the UN is to increase knowledge about the UN and promote Finland’s UN policy.
Read the press release on the Maailma.net website (only available in Finnish)
