Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
Helen Clark Award
Nominations now open for the 2026 Helen Clark-JoPPP Award in Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
The Helen Clark-Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (JoPPP) Award recognizes the talents of exceptional individuals, who are making a significant contribution to the field of pharmaceutical policy and practice. The award started in 2018.
The announcement for 2024 winners can be found here.
About the award
Helen Clark ONZ SSI PC]Helen Elizabeth Clark ONZ SSI PC is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. This Award is named after her to acknowledge her significant contribution in the field of health and global development.
How to nominate
Candidates for the Award can be self-nominated or nominated by individuals. This includes a letter of support of 500 words or less outlining why the candidate meets the criteria for the Award. Written consent from the nominees for the Award must be obtained before submission of the nomination.
Selection criteria
Nominees must meet all three criteria listed below to be eligible for the Award. Nominations must include evidence that these criteria have been met consistently over 10 or more years.
1. Public health impact: Significant contributions to promote “policy and practice, pharmaceutical system strengthening, pharmaceutical health services research, access to and use of medicines”.
2. Capacity-building record: A distinguished record in teaching, training, consulting, practice, giving guidance to students (e.g. supervision of PhD students), research (capacity-building through collaboration across universities), health professionals (e.g. pharmacists) and policy-makers (e.g. policy advice) in the field of pharmaceutical policy and practice.
Award eligibility
Everyone can nominate and can be nominated for the award. You may nominate as many different persons as you like, but you can only self-nominate once. Unsuccessful nominees may be nominated for the award in subsequent years.
Selection process
Once nominations close on the 8th of June 2026, the judges will determine the Award recipient from a shortlist of candidates solely based on the information provided in the nomination letter. The weighing for each of the two criteria is:
1. Public health impact – 50%
2. Capacity-building record – 50%
The deadline for nominations is the 8th of June 2026. Late nominations will not be considered.
Please send your inquiries, nominations, and supporting letters to Prof Zaheer Baber, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice by email at [email protected]
Kind Regards
Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar BPharm MPharm PhD SFHEA
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (JoPPP)
Announcing the 2024 Helen Clark-JoPPP Award Winners
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Helen-Clark-JoPPP Award for Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research:
Professor Veronika Wirtz, Boston University School of Public Health, USA
Professor Raffaella Ravinetto, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium
They are being presented with the award based on the scientific merit of their work, as well as the impact of their work on patients, decision-makers and governments.
Started in 2018, the annual Helen Clark-Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (JoPPP) Award recognises the talents of exceptional individuals who are making a significant contribution to the field of pharmaceutical policy and practice.
The Honourable Helen Elizabeth Clark, former New Zealand Prime Minister, after whom the Award is named, said: “Congratulations to all the Award Winners! Your remarkable contributions to pharmaceutical public health research have not only impacted your local communities but have also resonated globally. Your dedication and hard work are truly commendable”.
Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar, chair of the Judging Panel and Editor-in-Chief of the journal, said: “The award recognizes the significant contributions of winners who have enhanced our understanding of pharmaceutical policy at both local and regional levels.”
With kind regards,
Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice [IF 3.3]
Award Winners’ Biographies
Dr. Veronika J. Wirtz is a professor of Global Health at the Boston University School of Public Health, where she is also the Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Pharmaceutical Policy. Between 2014 and 2016, she was the Co-Chair of The Lancet Commission on Essential Medicine Policies which published its report Essential Medicines for Universal Health Coverage in 2016. Dr. Wirtz received her training as a pharmacist from Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany and her Master of Science degree and her doctorate degree from the University of London, UK.
Raffaella Ravinetto is a public health pharmacist with thirty years’ experience in clinical research, humanitarian programmes, pharmaceutical policies, and research ethics. She is currently a professor in Pharmaceutical Public Health and the Head of Public Health Department at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium, and an extraordinary professor at the School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Her main areas of interest include pharmaceutical policies and equitable access to quality-assured health products, with a particular focus on the context of low- and middle-income countries; and research ethics, particularly in relation to resource-constrained settings and vulnerable populations.
The 2023 Helen Clark-JoPPP Award Winners
The winners of the 2023 Helen-Clark-JoPPP Award for Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research are listed below:
Professor Cha-oncin Sooksriwong, Thammasat University, Thailand
Dr. Suzete Costa, Institute for Evidence-Based Health (ISBE), Portugal
Professor Dato’ Abu Bakar Abdul Majeed, UiTM Malaysia
They were presented with the award based on the scientific merit of their work, as well as the impact of their work on patients, decision-makers and governments.
Starting in 2018, the annual Helen Clark-Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (JoPPP) Award recognises the talents of exceptional individuals who are making a significant contribution to the field of pharmaceutical policy and practice. The Honourable Helen Elizabeth Clark, former New Zealand Prime Minister, after whom the Award is named, said: “Many congratulations to all the Award Winners. These researchers have made a significant contribution to facilitating pharmaceutical public health research within their communities and globally.”
Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar, chair of the Judging Panel and Editor-in-Chief of the journal, said: “The award celebrates the achievements of winners, who have made immense contributions to improve our understanding of pharmacy locally and regionally.”
With kind regards,
Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
Award Winners’ Biographies
Cha-oncin Sooksriwong is an Associate professor at the Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Thammasart University. Her research area is drug policy focusing on drug prices and logistics. Dr Sooksriwong was the first director of the Doctoral Program in Pharmacy Administration at Mahidol University, a collaboration program among three Schools of Pharmacy in the USA.
Suzete Costa is a pharmacist and is the Executive Director & Senior Research Director at the Institute for Evidence-Based Health (ISBE), Portugal. Previously she was Deputy Secretary-General of the Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society and Executive Director of the Centre for Health Evaluation & Research (CEFAR) of ANF.
Professor Dato’ Dr Abu Bakar Abdul Majeed is the Dean at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. He has contributed significantly to the pharmacy profession, including as a member of the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia, a Council Member of the Malaysian Pharmacists Society and a Founding Principal of the Malaysian Academy of Pharmacy.
About the Award
Helen Elizabeth Clark ONZ SSI PC is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. This Award is named after her to acknowledge her significant contribution in the field of health and global development.
About the Editor
Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar is Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice at College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar. He is globally recognized for his research in pharmaceutical policy and practice, including the quality use of medicines, clinical pharmacy practice, access to medicines and issues related to pharmacoeconomics. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (JoPPP).
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More about the journal
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice is an Open Access peer-reviewed journal that provides a platform for researchers to disseminate empirical research findings with the aim that people everywhere have access to the medicines they need and be able to use them rationally.
The journal encompasses all aspects of pharmacy including clinical, social, administration, and economics. It also covers pharmaceutical aspects of healthcare policy, providing a platform to researchers, academics and practitioners from around the world to share evidence, concerns and perspectives on pharmacy systems, management, ethics, and financial analysis.
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice welcomes for consideration the following types of article: research article, letter to the Editor, review, article commentary, comment, policy analysis, short report, study protocol. All articles received by the journal will be subject to double-anonymous peer review.
Journal History
In December 2008, Southern Med Review was started by Prof. Zaheer Babar to promote pharmaceutical policy research at a global level. The journal has been unique in publishing the work of new researchers, documenting the pharmaceutical situation of low- and middle-income countries and debating pertinent pharmaceutical policy questions. The journal’s work has been recognized at a global level and, according to WHO, it fulfilled a global need. The journal is indexed in Scopus, EMBASE and PubMed Central and in 2013 was relaunched under its new title, Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice.
Archival content
An electronic archive of content under the journal’s previous name Southern Med Review Volumes 2-5can be found on PubMed Central.
About the Editor
Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar is a Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice at College of Pharmacy, Qatar University,and a Visiting Professor in the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom.
He has held several senior academic leadership roles, including Professor of Medicines and Healthcare and Director of the Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research Centre at the University of Huddersfield, and Head of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is internationally recognised for his work in pharmaceutical policy and practice, particularly in the quality use of medicines, clinical pharmacy practice, equitable access to medicines, and pharmacoeconomics.
