Arthur Chaskalson and Wangari Maathai Receive the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2007 Mandela Health & Human Rights Award

Menlo Park, CA – Former South African Chief Justice, Arthur Chaskalson, and Kenyan environmental activist, Wangari Maathai, today were awarded the 2007 Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights.  Chief Justice Chaskalson was recognized for his lifelong contribution to establishing a rights culture in South Africa demonstrated by his role in drafting the new Constitution for post apartheid South Africa, which included the right to health care among its provisions, and Prof. Maathai for her contribution to women’s empowerment in Kenya and internationally.

Established in 1992 by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation at the behest of Nelson Mandela, the Mandela Award honors individuals for outstanding dedication to improving the health and life chances of disadvantaged populations in South Africa and internationally.  Recipients are selected in conjunction with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and with the approval of Mr. Mandela.

The Kaiser Family Foundation hosted the ceremony held at the Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, on July 19, which included introductory comments from Kaiser President and CEO, Drew Altman, Ph.D., and a keynote address by South African Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

A leader in health policy and communications, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a U.S.-based non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the U.S., with a growing role in global health.  Over the past two decades, Kaiser has also maintained a major program in South Africa with the aim of helping South Africans establish a more equitable national health system and build a successful democracy.