Malawian film wins WHO Universal Health Coverage award

A Malawian film, Beyond The Last Mile - The Story of Rose Magayi,” has won an award at Health for All Film Festival organised by the World Health Organisation.

WHO announced the official selection of this year’s winning films at the launch of WHO’s Investment Round on the eve of the Seventy-Seventh World Health Assembly in Geneva on Sunday.

The short feature film grabbed the award under the Universal Health Coverage Special Mention category, directed by Congolese filmmaker Carlo Lechea.

The event, opened by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and attended by representatives of member states and celebrities from the cinema and arts, saw winning films announced for seven different categories, while four films received special mentions from the jury.

Wide ranging entries

This is the fifth year of the Film Festival, which received almost 1000 entries from filmmakers around the world on issues ranging from gender equity and war trauma to burnout, climate change, and healthy ageing.

The films were judged by a panel of artists, actors, and health activists, such as filmmaker and producer Apolline Traoré; Olympic swimmer and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Yusra Mardini; multidisciplinary artist, Mário Macilau; and film director Paul Jerndal. They were joined by senior United Nations officials and WHO staff.

“WHO’s Health for All Film Festival gathers many powerful stories about a variety of health experiences from people from all over the world,” said WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Listening to the stories of people affected by health issues helps us to understand people’s lived experiences and move towards achieving better health for all,” he added.

Four special prizes were also given for a student-produced film, a film on physical activity and health, and a film on the health of migrants and refugees.

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