The prize, with the sum of 7,500 euros, is annually awarded by the Portugal-Mozambique Chamber of Commerce with the objective of recognising individuals and organisations who, for their relevance and the work undertaken, stand out in the field of Social Responsibility in Moçambique.

Emília Pinto is a Gulbenkian Foundation doctoral degree grantee and the doctor responsible for palliative care at the Central Hospital of Maputo, receiving support from the project “Improving the diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases – Onco-Mozambique”, managed by the Foundation.

The winning project strives to integrate Palliative Care into the national health system of Mozambique, a theme that Emília Pinto approaches in her doctoral degree thesis at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Porto. The opening of the first “Pain Palliative Care Unit” in the country at the Maputo Central Hospital, counted on the support of the project managed and financed by the Gulbenkian Project in partnership with Camões IP, Millenium Bim and the Millenium BCP Foundation.

The Prize was established in homage to Maria das Neves Rebelo de Sousa, one of the first social assistants in Portugal, who dedicated part of her life to social and humanitarian causes in Mozambique. The ceremony, held via Zoom, included speeches by the President of the Portuguese Republic, the former President of the Republic of Mozambique, Joaquim Alberto Chissano, and the former Mozambican Minister of Health, Leonardo Simão.