Virchow Prize Lecture 2025
Theme: Advancing women, maternal, newborn, and child health equity
October 10, 2025 | 11:00–12:30 CET, followed by a reception
ESMT Berlin, Schlossplatz 1, 10178 Berlin
and via livestream
This event will take place on campus and online. To attend, please register using the form below.
About the Lecture
The Virchow Foundation and ESMT Berlin are delighted to host the distinguished Virchow Prize Lectures in honor of the 2025 Laureates, Quarraisha Abdool Karim and Zulfiqar A. Bhutta.
This year’s Laureates are recognized “for their pioneering, lifelong leadership in advancing maternal, newborn, and child health equity through community-centred, evidence-based research.”
The lecture will highlight the urgent need to advance equity in women’s, maternal, newborn, and child health. It will emphasize holistic, systems-based approaches that recognize the links between gender, health, and development, underscoring that health advances must be just, inclusive, and co-created with the communities they serve.
The discussion will explore integrated strategies to address global health challenges and promote equity, contributing to the achievement of:
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
- SDG 5: Gender Equality
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Program
| 11:00 |
Welcome and introduction of the Virchow Prize Laureates 2025
|
| 11:10 |
Lectures of the Virchow Prize Laureates 2025
|
| 11:50 |
Panel discussion Panelists:
|
| 12:20 | Public Q&A |
About the Laureates
Prof. Quarraisha Abdool Karim is a renowned epidemiologist and global health leader whose work has significantly advanced HIV prevention and women’s health. She is professor of clinical epidemiology at Columbia University and associate scientific director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA). As UNAIDS special ambassador for adolescents and HIV, she champions evidence-based, community-driven approaches to health equity. Her research has shaped global responses to HIV/AIDS and continues to influence public health strategies for vulnerable populations.
Prof. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta is a globally recognized expert in maternal, newborn, and child health. He holds the Robert Harding Chair in Global Child Health at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto and is the founding director of the Institute for Global Health and Development at Aga Khan University. His pioneering work focuses on evidence-based interventions to improve health and nutrition outcomes in underserved populations. Prof. Bhutta serves on numerous global health advisory boards and is a leading voice in shaping policy for child and adolescent health worldwide.