The Lancet editor Richard Horton honored with Roux Prize

2019 Roux Prize winner is ‘relentlessly taking on issues’ to advance health, challenge the medical profession, and promote human rights

‘An uncompromising commitment to creating a healthier, safer, and more just world’

LONDON – Dr. Richard Horton, the “activist editor” of the international medical journal The Lancet, was honored June 10 for his accomplishments as one of the world’s most “committed, articulate, and influential advocates for population health.”

He received the Roux Prize, given annually to individuals on the front lines of global health innovation in data science. The black-tie event will be held in London at the Old Library and Print Room at Guildhall.

“This is an extraordinary honor that is both humbling and motivating for all of us at The Lancet,” said Horton, who joined the journal’s staff in 1990 and was named its editor-in-chief five years later. “We believe the purpose of creating knowledge isn’t just publication, but to use that knowledge to accelerate social progress and to hold those in power accountable for their promises and commitments.”

Dave Roux, a US-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, and his wife, Barbara, are the benefactors of the $100,000 award, which is administered by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine in Seattle.

“There is virtually no policy debate in global health or priority adopted by donor agencies or international health organizations that has not first been championed in the pages of The Lancet,” Roux said. “Under Richard’s leadership, the journal has become the premier venue for global health science. He has shaped the evolution of priorities through his weekly editorials and commentaries and through the sponsorship of myriad commissions on the vital health issues of our day.”

“Richard has been an activist editor, relentlessly taking on issues beyond the traditional scope of ‘public health,’ including the accountability of the medical profession, as well as human rights,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray. “He has demonstrated an uncompromising commitment to advance health internationally, and his vison for a healthier, safer, and more just world has made Richard one of the world’s most sought-after population health speakers.”

Established in 1823, The Lancet today is one of the world’s most influential medical journals. Horton leads the flagship weekly publication, The Lancet, and is editorial director for its 15 other medical journals, overseeing an integrated editorial mission for equity, the right to health, and social justice across the entire Lancet group.

This year marks the sixth annual presentation of the Roux Prize. Past winners include health ministers of Rwanda and Mali. For more information, visit http://www.healthdata.org/roux-prize

Media contacts:

IHME: Dean Owen, +1-206-897-2858 (office); +1-206-434-5630 (mobile); [email protected] 

The Lancet: Emily Head +44-207-424-4249 (office); +44-7920-530-997 (mobile); [email protected]