Outstanding Citizen Achievement Citation
USAID Honors Atlanta, Tbilisi Partners with Outstanding Citizen Citation
Atlanta, Georgia - On April 19, 2006, USAID honored H. Kenneth Walker, M.D. of Emory University with its Outstanding Citizen Achievement Citation at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta. Dr. Walker is being recognized for spearheading a volunteer partnership with his counterpart, Irakli Sasania, M.D. of M. Iashvili Central Children’s Hospital in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. This sharing of information and ideas between medical professionals in their respective institutions and communities led to the establishment of the first modern pediatric emergency room in any country from the former Soviet Union. A ceremony honoring Dr. Sasania is scheduled for June 16 in Tbilisi.
“This extraordinary collaboration has markedly improved health outcomes for Georgian children who require specialized emergency care,” said Drew W. Luten III, USAID Acting Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia. “Partnerships such as these are fundamental to lasting, sustainable progress across the globe.”
The USAID Outstanding Citizen Achievement Citation recognizes volunteerism in an international development context. Recipients of this citation are honored for service that has contributed to the realization of USAID’s mission to provide economic development and humanitarian assistance around the world. The Atlanta–Tbilisi partnership is the ninth recipient to be cited by USAID for innovative efforts in the Europe and Eurasia region.
More than 340 guests attended the Atlanta ceremony, which featured remarks from Dr. Sasania, Ambassador of the Republic of Georgia Vasil Sikharulidze, James W. Wagner, PhD, President of Emory University and James P. Smith, Executive Director of the American International Health Alliance, a non-governmental organization which has provided fundamental support to the partnership.
“Hand in Hand,” a USAID-sponsored, short documentary on the work of Drs. Walker and Sasania – narrated by veteran broadcast journalist Forrest Sawyer – premiered at the event.
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| Drs. H. Kenneth Walker and Irakli Sasania lead a groundbreaking volunteer partnership of American and Georgian medical professionals which led to the establishment and operation of the first pediatric emergency unit in a post-Soviet country. |
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| Dr. Walker has had more than a decade-long relationship with USAID in Georgia, and was honored for his role in spearheading an Atlanta-Tbilisi medical alliance that has led to the establishment of the first pediatric emergency in Georgia and the entire region. |
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| Dr. Thomas Lawley, Dean of the Emory University School of Medicine (left) and Dr. James Wagner, President of Emory University, were among the hundreds of guests who attended the USAID ceremony honoring Dr. Walker (center). Both Dr. Lawley and Dr. Wagner spoke during the evening’s program. |
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