Living Legend of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences

6 December 2022. Dr. Habiba Wassef has been chosen recipient of the Living Legend of the International Union of Nutrition Sciences during this year’s 22nd IUNS-ICN International Congress of Nutrition (22nd IUNS-ICN, Tokyo). This award is given for her contributions to advancing nutrition at a national, regional and global level. It is a prestigious honor that serves to recognize the best in International Union of Nutrition Sciences.

Dr. Habiba Wassef  is the current Chair of the National Nutrition Sciences Committee of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology of Egypt. She has twenty years of service with the World Health Organization with the last 6 years at WHO Headquarters in Geneva. Dr. Hassan-Wassef’s knowledge and expertise was further strengthened through continued national and regional research and expert services in Europe, the Middle-East, and Africa. Dr. Habiba is Vice-President of the African Society for Mycotoxicology (ASM); a Trustee of the Africa Nutrition Society (ANS); and a Council Member of the Federation of African Nutrition Societies (FANUS).

In choosing the recipient, several things are considered, including the professional activities in research, teaching, services and advocacy. What set Dr. Habiba Wassef apart from other candidates is that she a member of regional and national think tanks and technical advisory boards in her fields of expertise and is author of several scientific publications and four times co-author of the Egypt Human Development Report. She received a number of national and international awards in recognition of her contribution to health and nutrition. They include the 2008 Gold Medal of the Academy of Agriculture of France; the 2016 Africa Award for Distinguished Services to Nutrition. In Octocber 2018, she received the RUFORUM Award and Prize to Individuals Making Impact for Africa’s Development..

Prof Francis Zotor,  newly elected IUNS vice-President and former president of the Africa Nutrition Society received this award in Tokyo on behalf of Dr. Habiba Wassef. The awards received by Africans also included 2 IUNS Fellows to Prof. Nnam Ngozi (Nigeria), President of FANUS and Prof. Paul Amuna (Ghana), ANS Trustee, and Anna Lartey, former ANS president and former Head of FAO Nutrition, who also received the IUNS Lifelong Award.