Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) president, Prof K Srinath Reddy, has been conferred with Doctor of Science (Medicine) degree by the University of London (UoL) for his outstanding contributions to the public health and cardiology in India.

Honouring his work in the healthcare arena, UoL had conferred Prof Reddy for creating large scale worksite and school based programmes for prevention of heart disease and diabetes. Their impactful results have been published in prestigious journals and acclaimed internationally as ‘best practices’ for replication. He has been acclaimed as a global leader in tobacco control and played a prominent role in the development of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) while representing India in the international treaty negotiations during 2000-2003.

Accepting the award of the Degree of Doctor of Science (Medicine) Honoris Causa at the 2014 Foundation Ceremony of the University of London, Dr Reddy said, “In an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, global health is the best unifying platform. The Public Health Foundation of, India (PHFI), represents these values and reflects the contributions of the collective research that has tracked the trends of heart diseases in India and other developing countries over the last three decades. It is a tribute to India's resolute pursuit of good health and wellbeing for all. I am grateful for this recognition of my lifelong commitment to improve the health of the people in India and my contributions to global health.”

Dr Reddy who is also a recipient of Padma Bhushan (Presidential Honour) in the year 2005 has been heading PHFI since its inception in the year 2006. Under his leadership, PHFI has established five Indian Institutes of Public Health (IIPHs) in different regions of India and is working to transform public health through education research, policy support, public communication and development of affordable technologies for primary health services.

Dr Srinath Reddy has also served previously as Head of Cardiology Department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and he is the first Indian from Hyderabad to serve as President of the World Heart Federation (WHF) which is an umbrella organization for all national and continental cardiac societies and heart foundations across the world.

Graduated from New Science College in Hyderabad, Dr Reddy obtained his MBBS degree from Osmania Medical College and had even chaired the High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), constituted by the Planning Commission of India and his valuable recommendations were incorporated into India’s 12th Five Year Plan.