Humanitarian Recognition Award
The Urology Care Foundation Humanitarian Recognition Award acknowledges an individual for demonstrated commitment to improving access to quality urologic health care in underserved populations. The awardee is someone who exemplifies the spirit of philanthropy as evidenced by prior humanitarian work.
Congratulations to the 2024 Urology Care Foundation Humanitarian Recognition Award Winner:
Syed Adibul Hasan Rizvi, FRCS
Dr. Rizvi's impact on urology in Pakistan is nothing short of remarkable. Founder of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), he turned an 8-bed ward in 1971 into South Asia's largest public healthcare institution. Dr. Rizvi's commitment to 'healthcare for all, free with dignity' has seen SIUT treat over 3.3 million patients in 2022.
SIUT offers comprehensive services from urology to transplant, oncology, and more. Notably, their kidney transplant program, one of the world's largest, boasts incredible survival rates. The institute's success lies in a unique community-government partnership, with increasing government contributions reflecting SIUT's growing footprint. Dr. Rizvi’s disarming humility, compassion, and altruism so clearly resonate through SUIT’s commitment to provide lifelong follow-up and free immunosuppressive medications for life.
Dr. Rizvi has earned numerous national and international awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1998, the Hamdan Award for Volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services in 2004, WHO's Shousha Prize in 2008, the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Sindh Association of North America in 2015, and the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Medal of Distinction) Award by the President of Pakistan in 2018. His humanitarian work and advancements in transplant surgery make him a true inspiration.
Past Recipients
2023 Urology Care Foundation Humanitarian Recognition Award Winner
Serigne Magueye Gueye, MD, FWACS
Dr. Gueye has worked tirelessly on programs that improve urological care in some of the lowest-resourced parts of the world and holds an exemplary record of treatment and training in international programs.
He is Professor of Urology at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar in Senegal and Chair of Urology and Andrology at Hôpital General de Grand Yoff in Dakar, Senegal. He also serves as director of Institut pour la Formation et la Recherche en Urologie et en Santé de la Famille, a non-profit organization dedicated to building capacity and developing research in Urology and Reproductive health throughout Africa.
Among his many honors, Dr. Gueye received the United Nations Medal for Peace for his service as a field surgeon for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.
Dr. Gueye contributes to the development and training of medical doctors, surgical nurses and other healthcare professionals through his work with many international programs, including the United Nations Population Fund, Engender Health and the Women and Health Alliance International, where he runs training workshops in many sub-Saharan African countries.
Past Recipients
2022 Urology Care Foundation Humanitarian Recognition Award Winner
Sakti Das, MD
A lifelong humanitarian, Dr. Sakti Das has served in medical mission work for nearly 40 years. Volunteering in 12 countries and on three continents, Dr. Das has provided direct surgical care, trained numerous teams of physicians and developed infrastructure to sustain treatment for thousands of underserved patients, including a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. Currently, he volunteers his time once a year to his native country of India and one weekend per month in San Blas, Mexico, nine months out of the year. Additionally, he was the inspiration and founder of Foundation for Freedom, an organization focused on increasing literacy levels in impoverished communities around the world and is a founding member of the International Volunteers in Urology (IVU). He has built not only a distinguished academic career, but continues to give back to countless men, women and children in underserved communities throughout the world.
A member of the American Urological Association since 1984, Dr. Das has been globally recognized with more than 20 awards for his extraordinary work. Additionally, he has contributed to more than 200 publications and created numerous award-winning medical films. Dr. Das helped edit 11 urologic textbooks and journal issues and he is Professor Emeritus of Urology at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. He continues to travel the world working in partnership with others on international medical missions.
2021 Urology Care Foundation Humanitarian Recognition Award Winner
Catherine Rhu deVries, MD
Dr. Catherine deVries has been a leader and visionary in providing urologic care, education and training in low resource areas around the world for decades. Her work has focused not only on providing urologic clinical care, but also education and training of international healthcare partners, as well as promoting best surgical practices and safe surgery for all. On her first international humanitarian trip to Honduras in 1995 with a plastic surgery organization called Interpol, she conceived the idea for International Volunteers in Urology (IVU), as she recognized congenital urologic abnormalities were significantly more common than other anomalies treated by the plastic surgeons. This trip marked the inception of IVU which organizes between twenty and twenty-five short term educational and surgical training trips each year. For years, Dr. deVries has continued to reach out to potential partners throughout the world in ceaseless, bidirectional educational initiatives and humanitarian efforts to “Teach One, Reach Many.”