On its meeting on 19 November, the Executive Committee of the North-South Centre endorsed the decision of the North-South Prize Jury to award the 2021 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe to Ms. Zarifa Gafhari and to The COVAX Mechanism.
Ms. Zarifa Ghafari, former Mayor of Maidan Shahr, capital city of the Wardak Province in Afghanistan, has been selected by the Jury of the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe for her courage and strong commitment to defending women's rights in her home country, as well as internationally.
The Jury also decided to award the Prize to The Covax Mechanism, in recognition of the efforts made by this global initiative to ensure that COVID 19 vaccines are available worldwide, including in low-income countries, and ultimately for striving for a more equitable world when it comes to the protection of people's lives and public health.
By awarding these two Prizes the Jury intended to express its recognition to two causes which deserve our solidarity especially in the present moment: the struggle for life in front of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fight for gender equality.
