10 April 2026
On World Health Day, celebrated on 7 April, the Ministry of Health organised a commemorative event. It took place at the Champalimaud Foundation, under the theme proposed for this year by the World Health Organisation: “Together for Health. Stand with Science”
The Champalimaud Foundation (CF) was one of four institutions, together with more than 20 individuals (health and pharmaceutical specialists, clinicians, nurses, health managers, etc.) to receive this year the Ministry of Health’s Medal for Distinguished Service - Gold Class, rewarding the work they developed for the benefit of Health in Portugal. The medals were awarded on April 7th, during a ceremony marking World Health Day which took place at the Champalimaud Foundation, in Lisbon.
Leonor Beleza, president of the Champalimaud Foundation, opened the session. She highlighted the fact that the CF’s mission is precisely to closely integrate laboratory work and clinical practice. “This link between science and medicine fits particularly well with today’s theme”, emphasised Leonor Beleza.
Several speakers also addressed the day’s theme. In particular, Inês Pires da Silva, from the CF’s Dermatology Unit, linked it to her professional and personal experience. “I couldn’t be an oncologist if I didn’t do research,” she stated.
The doctor and researcher highlighted three priorities in this regard: better communication between scientists, clinicians and civil society; networking (citing the example of Portugal in the field of melanoma); and the need to measure the impact on patients using national databases and biobanks.
Inês Pires da Silva also spoke of the importance of “putting Portugal on the map” of clinical trials. “Clinical trials are not purely research; they are, essentially, opportunities for our patients. We must explain this to our population,” she emphasised.
In her closing speech, the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, highlighted some of the policy directions that need to be pursued. Among others, the end of “silos”: “The time of silos, of fragmentation, of ‘proudly alone’, is over,” she stated. “It is time for us, together, for the sake of science and health, to face the countless challenges ahead of us and to realise that the public interest takes precedence over individual or corporate interests. (...) The choice is between moving forward or falling behind.”
In addition to the CF, the institutions awarded the Ministry of Health’s Gold Medal of Merit were the Association for Biomedical Research and Innovation in Light and Image (AIBILI), CUF and the Judiciary Police. According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, the CF was recognised for its research in biomedical sciences and neurosciences; AIBILI for the development of medical image technologies (among others); CUF for over 80 years at the service of medical care in Portugal (among others); and the Judiciary Police for its role in the National Coordination Network for Organ Collection and Transplantation.
